Alternative routes to e-tolls
JOBURG- Motorists have been assured that Gauteng roads which serve as alternatives to tolled routes will be well maintained.
The Gauteng transport department said it will ensure the upkeep of alternative routes to prevent these roads from being degraded by over-use.
“The department assures the public that it will maintain the alternative, provincial routes to an acceptable and safe level on an on-going basis so as to obviate concerns that the secondary road network will be degraded through the anticipated increase in traffic volumes on these routes,” it said in a statement.
The department said the alternative routes aimed to ensure that Gauteng residents were not at a disadvantage when the e-toll system commences on 3 December.
It added that the alternative routes will give motorists a choice, especially those who cannot afford to pay the tolls.
The alternative routes include the R55 between Pretoria and Sandton and the N14 between Pretoria and Krugersdorp.
Additionally, the M1-R82 between Johannesburg and Vereeniging, the R103 between Johannesburg and Heidelberg, and the M57 between Pretoria and Kempton Park will serve as alternative routes.
For now, only the public transport industry and its commuters have been exempt from the user-pay system.
The department said, “road-based public transport operators were exempt from toll fees and this should have no adverse impact on commuter travel fares.”
