A viral hoax about Durban’s Spaghetti Junction threatens road user’s safety but SANRAL assures you there’s nothing to worry about. 

The South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) makes a significant contribution to road safety by maintaining and improving South Africa’s road environment and by identifying and addressing road safety concerns.   

SANRAL continuously evaluates the national road network against a set of norms and standards and applies this analysis during project design, construction and routine road maintenance.  

We also identify and addresses high-incident areas. 

Thus, it is with concern that SANRAL has noted the posting on social media of a photograph of a bridge with a gap and which is purported to be the Spaghetti Junction (EB Cloete Interchange) on the N2 outside Durban. 

SANRAL Eastern Region Regional Manager, Dumisani Nkabinde said it was rather unfortunate that a social media post has gone viral, claiming that Spaghetti Junction in Durban “is cracking and will be closed”. The post requested the public to “keep away”. 

Nkabinde said: “The photo shows a type of expansion joint located in the span of the bridge commonly known as a half joint. It is not a crack in the deck but is designed to expand and shrink. The picture is not from the EB Cloete Interchange located in Durban, but from an interchange in the United States which also appears to be called “Spaghetti Junction”.  

“The link below confirms this. This is further confirmed by the fact that this type of joint is not used at EB Cloete interchange, and the piers and parapet appear different to those at EB Cloete.” 

http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/photo-goes-viral-on-social-media-panicks 

Nkabinde concluded that the Spaghetti Junction in Durban is in good condition and there is no structural defe