Richards Bay truck congestion escalated to provincial level

A HOST of government entities has pledged to work together to solve the ongoing truck congestion on Richards Bay’s roads and the N2, while a special task team has been assigned to monitor the movement of trucks.

This was announced earlier today (Friday) by Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma, who met with the relevant parties from King Cetshwayo, uMkhanyakude and Zululand districts.

“The focus of the meeting was to ensure we work collectively to accelerate the construction of road and human settlements for the benefit of communities,” said Duma.

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“In particular, we have decided to act decisively in view of the fact that the problem of truck congestion is resurfacing.

“The team from Road Traffic Inspectorate will work flat out with municipalities and key stakeholders such as Transnet, Road Freight Association and Zululand Chamber of Business to prevent truck congestion leading into the Port of Richards Bay from the N2 highway.

“In addition, we commit to working with Transnet and Richards Bay Bulk Terminal to ensure safe and effective movement of coal destined for export.

“Our roads have been damaged and created challenges such as truck-related accidents that continue to claim innocent lives.”

This after truck congestion caused havoc on the N2 and John Ross highway over the past week, at times stretching 14km back on the N2 towards eNseleni.

Duma said the government needs to improve the rail network, and tap into aviation and maritime sectors to facilitate the movement of goods.

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