WATCH: Heavy rain leads to N2 bridge collapse, road closed

The KwaZulu-Natal department of transport has closed the N2 southbound following the partial collapse of the Umbongintwini River Bridge on Tuesday.

The province has been experiencing heavy rain since the weekend, with the South African Weather Service (SAWS) issuing an orange level 5 warning for severe thunderstorms on Monday.

Heavy rains continued on Tuesday, resulting in the partial collapse of the bridge, among other impacts.

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MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, said on Tuesday that he had been in constant liaison with the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy.

“The Minister has assured me that a team from SANRAL is managing the matter as N2 Ezimbokodweni River Bridge falls under the entity,” said Duma.

“We recall that the Minister was in the province a few weeks ago, together with Sanral to monitor the upgrade of N2 and N3 with a budget of R50 billion.

“We continue to interact with the Minister to accelerate the repair, maintenance and construction of our roads and bridges.”

While the northbound traffic is unaffected, the southbound traffic is being diverted through Andrew Zondo Road and other municipal roads.

Sanral assessing bridge

Sanral has advised motorists to be cautious when approaching the bridge and use alternative routes instead.

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“Sanral specialist engineers are currently on site to assess the extent of the damage and remedial action to be taken,” said Vusi Mona, Sanral’s General Manager of Marketing and Communications.

“The Southbound carriageway over the bridge has been closed from Joiner Road and vehicles are being diverted to alternative routes. Motorists are advised to be cautious when approaching the site.”

Meanwhile, the weather service has issued a yellow level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms over the south-western parts of Limpopo, extreme eastern parts of the North West Province, Gauteng and the western highveld of Mpumalanga, on Wednesday.

Residents in these areas should watch out for damage or loss of infrastructure, settlements and major travel disruptions and disruptions of municipal and other essential service, said the weather service.