Primary national artery in great shape for holiday traffic

Source: Shutterstock
Source: Shutterstock

Primary national artery in great shape for holiday traffic

Travelling on the N1 freeway between Cape Town and Gauteng should be mostly trouble free during the Easter holiday period and road users will likely not experience major delays caused by roadworks.

“The national and provincial road network is a safe environment and if drivers stick to the rules of the road and display tolerance and courtesy towards fellow road users, we should be able to cut down on the unacceptably high rate of fatal crashes,” says Vusi Mona, spokesperson for the South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL).

The recent introduction of automated pay systems at toll plazas on the busiest national highways connecting Gauteng with the rest of the country is improving traffic flows and contributing to safer journeys.

Road users with electronic tags no longer have to stop at toll plazas such as Grasmere, south of Johannesburg, Vaal, Verkeerdevlei and Brandfort on the N1/R30 south. To the north of Pretoria automated toll plazas will offer alternative payment options to travellers at the Baobab, Capricorn, Kranskop, Nyl and Sebetiela plazas.

“One tag lifts all booms at plazas where the automated payment system is already in place,” says Mona. It enables motorists to plan their travel in advance, cuts down on waiting time at plazas and reduces the levels of driver fatigue and frustrations during long journeys.

“This, again, demonstrates how SANRAL’s investments in cutting-edge technology and smart road systems are contributing to a safer road environment,” says Mona.

The Easter holiday – from Friday 25 to Monday 28 March – is traditionally a period when there is a rapid spike in traffic on most major national and provincial highways. The school holidays of all nine provinces coincide this year and traffic flow is expected to increase towards the end of this period prior to the reopening of schools on 5 April.

Construction work during peak hour traffic will be limited and no journeys on any of the major highways will be delayed by more than 20 minutes due to road building activities.

The most important road construction is being undertaken in the Free State. Between Bloemfontein and Kroonstad parts of the road are being upgraded and traffic will be temporarily diverted near Trompsburg.

A compulsory stop will in place about five kilometres to the south of Touws River on the stretch between Rawsonville and Laingsburg. Minor construction work is also undertaken at various other locations in the Karoo.

Mona calls on road users to obey speed limits and slow down at demarcated areas where temporary construction might take place. SANRAL is taking great care to prevent pedestrians or stray animals from entering the freeway network but road users are cautioned to adjust their speed especially during night times.