National roads set to be busy this Easter holiday
The N3 will see heavy traffic travelling from the coast towards Johannesburg on Easter Monday at the Merrivale Interchange as well as going towards Durban from the Reef.
TRAFFIC is set to spike on national roads across the country from April 18 to April 23, after a relatively calm weekend.
The Easter holidays, from April 19 to 22, is traditionally a period when traffic increases on most major national and provincial highways, with the peak traffic times over the period being mostly on the Thursday before the long weekend and Easter Monday.
Traffic projections: April 18 to 22
Travellers going towards Cape Town will experience congestion at the Huguenot Tunnel and going northwards again on Easter Monday. There will be heavy traffic on April 18 on the N2 towards Caledon and again on Easter Monday, going towards Grabouw.
The N3 will see heavy traffic travelling from the coast towards Johannesburg on Easter Monday at the Merrivale Interchange as well as going towards Durban from the Reef.
The same applies to the Machadadorp Plaza on the N4 from Nelspruit to Middelburg on Easter Monday. This is also true for the Brits Plaza on the same highway going west on the two days before Good Friday, as well as Easter Monday. In the opposite direction, this holds for April 18 and Good Friday.
Heavy traffic volumes are expected on the N1 heading towards Polokwane on the day before Good Friday and coming back, toward Pretoria, on Easter Monday. Also along the N1, at Capricorn Plaza towards Beit Bridge, heavy traffic flows are expected on Thursday while going toward Polokwane heavy traffic and congestion will occur on Easter Monday.
These are the expected peak travel times barring any unforeseen major traffic incidents or weather conditions.
Road works during Easter holidays
“Construction work during peak hour traffic will be limited and no journeys on any of the major highways will be unnecessarily prolonged due to road building activities,” said Vusi Mona, general manager for communications at the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral).
Road safety
Mona calls on road users to obey speed limits, to take a break when tired and to refrain from texting and driving.
“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 on our roads,” said Mona.
Sanral is taking great care to prevent pedestrians or stray animals from entering the freeway network, but road users are cautioned to be vigilant, especially at night.
Expected traffic volumes
The table below gives an overview of expected heavy traffic volumes on major routes across the country. Routes not included below will be free-flowing throughout the coming long weekend, barring unforeseen weather and traffic incidents.
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