Motorists using the intersection of Daan de Wet Nel Drive and Willem Cruywagen in the north of Pretoria have endured weeks of traffic congestion and safety risks.
Traffic lights at the busy crossing stopped working, with the Tshwane metro confirming it was not aware of the issue until recently.

According to residents, the traffic signals have been out of order for several weeks, causing daily gridlock and near-miss incidents, particularly during peak morning and afternoon traffic.

The metro stated that the reference number does not reflect on its system.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said, “According to the metro’s records, the reference does not reflect on the outstanding service requests received in the past week. The maintenance team was dispatched for a site inspection.”

Mashigo confirmed that during the site inspection, it was discovered that the intersection was out of service due to a power failure on the overhead lines that supply the traffic signals at the intersection.

Frustrated motorists say the lack of functioning traffic lights has turned a normally busy intersection into a daily source of stress and danger.

“It’s chaos every single day. Cars just push through from all sides. You have to inch forward and hope someone lets you pass,” said Kananegelo Mohlokomme, a commuter who travels from Winternest through the intersection on her way to work.

“There are no traffic officers most of the time, and everyone is in a hurry. We have seen a few near-collisions. It’s shocking that this went unnoticed for so long,” she said.

The metro indicated that it will request OUTsurance pointsmen to assist with traffic management during peak periods.

Regarding repairs, Mashigo said the traffic signals will only become operational once the power supply to the overhead lines is restored.

“As soon as power supply to the overhead lines is restored, the traffic signals will be operational again,” he said.

Another motorisit Patrick Phokeng said the traffic lights must be sorted as soon as possible, as the situation is now becoming serious.

“I mean, we have people who don’t obey the stop-and-go situation just because the streetlights are not working.

“I understand that most people are rushing to go to work in the morning and want to go home in the afternoon but we must respect each other on the roads to avoid fatalities,” said Phokeng.

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