UPDATE: N4 still closed in eMalahleni because of service delivery protest
Motorists travelling to and from Pretoria remain affected. Protestors are angry after 40 000 households have been without power for weeks.
The N4 highway near eMalahleni was still closed by Monday afternoon because of a service delivery protest.
The protest led to the closure of the road between the Kromdraai and Mathews Phosa off-ramps earlier in the morning.
Motorists travelling to or from Pretoria were advised to use alternative routes as the highway was closed to traffic in both directions at 07:00.
At 15:00, the N4 remained closed.
An eMalahleni ward councillor in the area, XA Nkosi, told Rekord that six wards have been left without power for weeks after a transformer in the area broke down. He said that about 40 000 households had been affected.
Nkosi said that the new transformer had been acquired and paid for, but was still in transit to be replaced.
He said that eMalahleni mayor Conny Nkalitshana would later today address the concerns of the protesting residents.
A spokesperson for TracN4, Solange Soares, asked motorists to avoid the section of the highway heading into Emalahleni (Witbank) from Pretoria and to use alternative routes.
ALSO READ: N4 closed in Emalahleni due to protest
She said that TracN4 teams were on site to monitor the situation and that TracN4 was working with SAPS in the area.
Soares said that there are several alternative routes around the affected section of the highway.
She urged motorists to follow @TRACN4route on Twitter for the latest updates on the road closure.
Angry residents gathered on the highway and left rocks and burning tyres across the road after being left without electricity and water for weeks.
The protesters were from KwaGuqa, a new extension outside Emalahleni. Residents said they made attempts to communicate with the mayor over service delivery issues after spending three weeks without electricity.
They said the outages also affected the water supply because reservoir levels in the area became low.
Motorists heading to Emalahleni or further were advised to use the N12 or to exit the N4 before the affected area and use alternative routes.
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