UPDATE (May 12):
The temporary lane on section 24 of the National Route 2 (N2) Northbound carriageway between Umzinto and Umgababa is expected to open by next week.
Long term repairs of this section is then estimated to take between six to eight months to be completed.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) announced today (May 10) that section 24 of the National Route 2 (N2) Northbound carriageway between Umzinto and Umgababa – which was closed due to flooding – is set to reopen.
“The far-left lane of the N2 on the northern carriageway collapsed and settled by over a metre and moved down the embankment,” said Ravi Ronny of SANRAL.
“This resulted in a serious safety issue hence the closure of this section, and as a short-term measure, traffic is deviated to the provincial network to the R197 and R102.”
Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, said that his department and the provincial government will contribute R5billion towards the repairs on the road infrastructure in the province.
“On April 18, on declaring the national state of disaster, President Ramaphosa designated SANRAL as the lead agency to lead the extensive work required to repair roads in the province, starting with an immediate focus on the N2 and N3 freeways,” said Minister Fikile Mbalula.
“Since then, SANRAL has worked with the provincial and municipal authorities in KwaZulu-Natal to advance the rebuilding and rehabilitation work required to restore normality to the lives of the people in the province.”
According to SANRAL in an attempt to get traffic back on the road again, a temporary lane is being constructed to get the northbound carriageway reopened.
This will assist in further investigations and getting contractors on to the site to start the construction by the end of May.
Construction is estimated to take between six to eight months on this section to be completed.
Ronny added that when the contractors get on site, they will remove the sunken part of the road and work from bottom up to the top.
“Generally, these contracts take between 12 and 15 months, but we will have an accelerated programme to try and finish in a short as possible time period,” said Ronny.
(STORY HAS BEEN EDITED)
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