Eco Junction traffic flow highlights danger

MORE than 400 cars travel through the intersection at the John Ross Eco Junction every hour, a new survey has found.

The study, conducted by Goodness and Mercy Transport found that on average, 234 vehicles travel per hour from Empangeni to Richards Bay while 181 vehicles move in the opposite direction.

In the same period, 37 vehicles moved through the intersection to Tangawizi Motors or the new service station while 32 moved into the construction site of the Melomed Richards Bay Hospital.

According to the report, individuals were posted at the intersection over three weekdays from 6am to 9am and 3pm to 8pm.

During the six-hour stints, more than 14 000 cars moved through the intersection.

An engineer from a private consulting firm, who cannot be named as he is not authorised to speak with the media, spoke to the Zululand Observer last year.

‘It is national policy that traffic signals are only installed where justified, and it is necessary that the signal timings are set according to the traffic volumes on each of the legs of the intersection,’ he said.

‘It is important that the road is safe but equally important that traffic on the John Ross Parkway is not unnecessarily stopped and delayed.

‘This is particularly important during peak traffic flows.

‘The KZN Department of Transport would therefore require traffic counts to be taken once the traffic has settled down and stabilised under the new conditions. They will then apply the standard warrant and approve the signalisation of the intersection, if justified.’

Design

However, it was repeatedly stated at public participation meetings during construction of the John Ross Parkway that demand-driven robots at the Eco Junction were incorporated in the design.

Deputy Chairman of the Zululand Division of the SA Roads Federation, Mike Patterson meanwhile said the survey did not attempt to address the danger or quantify the exceptional mix of heavy vehicles on the John Ross Parkway.

‘A few minutes observing vehicles trying to cross over this busy highway should be enough for one to realise the extreme danger,’ he said, referring to the necessity of motorists to flow into traffic moving at 100km/h.

‘The mix of heavy motor vehicles crossing over in both directions has increased substantially due to the hospital construction in addition to heavy vehicles transporting sand and rubble to and from the north side.

‘This has further aggravated the situation since Tangawizi motors and the service station opened for business last year.

‘Accidents are occurring and it is fortunate that no lives have been lost as yet,’ he said.