Mataffin/Halls traffic lights out of order due to cable theft
The N4 Halls/Mataffin/Macadamia intersections has seen an accident after some thieves had stolen cables in the area.
The traffic lights at the N4 Halls/Mataffin/Macadamia intersection have not been working for more than two weeks due to cable theft in the area, which resulted in a fatal accident on Tuesday morning. The spokesperson for the City of Mbombela, Joseph Ngala, said they were aware that the robots are not working, and the CoM electrical team is on the ground repairing them. They ought to start functioning by Friday again.
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“According to our knowledge, there was a cable theft in the area and our transformer was damaged, even though power was restored. Unfortunately, we couldn’t fix the robot on time, because we are still waiting for a new transformer that will arrive before the end of this week,” he said. Ngala said motorists are warned to drive with caution when approaching the intersection to avoid an accident while the team is in the process of repairing the traffic lights.
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“Community members need to safeguard the infrastructure that the municipality has put in place to help them, bearing in mind that cable theft is rife in the country. People must always report such incidences to the nearest police stations,” Ngala said. Some affected residents took to social media to express their feelings about the dysfunctional robots. Cathy Acheson said, “Oh no, that’s the robot outside my village. It’s dangerous at the best of times, and without the traffic lights, a total disaster.
I advised the traffic officers fining for speeding a few hundred metres away last week, that they would make lots of money trapping motorists for not treating that intersection as a four-way stop,” she said. Mark Taylor said, “This accident has been coming a long time due to the lights being out for weeks. It’s not a priority for City of Mbombela to fix them. Probably have no budget as usual. Expect more accidents as many drivers don’t even bother to stop or treat the crossing as a four-way stop.”
