SANRAL has announced that an additional lane on the N1 southbound near the R21 Interchange will be closed for sinkhole repairs, reducing traffic to three lanes from November 22 until December 1.

SANRAL’s Regional Manager for the Northern Region Progress Hlahla said the rehabilitation of the sinkhole on the N1 section 21 at km 22.0 Southbound had reached the next phase.

“This requires closing the additional lane on the Southbound carriageway.”

He said the lane closure will reduce the number of lanes on the N1 southbound past the N1 sinkhole works site (just south of the R21 Flying Sauver Interchange) from the current four lanes to three lanes.

“This closure will be erected on Friday evening, November 22, and will be in place until Sunday, December 1, 2024.”

Motorists are requested to strictly adhere to the traffic accommodation and signage provided.

“SANRAL apologises for any inconvenience caused.”

The sinkhole appeared on the eastern side of the N1 southbound, near the Flying Saucer intersection with the R21, following heavy rain and flooding in January 2022.

To prevent the adjacent area from collapsing, SANRAL was forced to close several car lanes, causing a traffic bottleneck during peak commuting hours.

SANRAL earlier this year told the media that the hole is only expected to be fully rehabilitated by the second quarter of 2025.

Sanral said although the entire project was now only estimated to be completed by Q2 2025, it was accelerating the work to ensure all lanes on the N1 were fully operational by the end of 2024.

The agency also previously revealed that the project cost was around R280 million.

Also read: 2024 Matric results to be withheld from newspapers

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram