As many as 50 trucks a year get stuck under a train bridge with a height restriction of three metres, and the City of Ekurhuleni is failing to stop the threat of dangerous logistics at the M89 intersection with the M56 in Kempton Park.
In addition, claims Councillor Jéan Kriek of the Freedom Front Plus, the road freight industry is not self-regulating on a matter he believes has been going on for at least four local government terms – 16 years.
“They say it’s not their responsibility; exactly what was said when a gas truck got stuck under a similar bridge in Boksburg, causing a major calamity.”
The incident Kriek is referring to happened on December 24, 2022, when an LPG gas tanker got stuck under a railway bridge on Hospital Road in Boksburg, killing 41 people and causing destruction across a blast zone of almost two kilometres in circumference.
One mother, Rosetta Brits, lost four of her seven children in the explosion.
Kriek says he believes a similar incident could happen if nothing progressive is done to prevent what he terms an “impending disaster”, considering that the Engen garage at the Birchleigh Convention Centre on Elgin Road is less than 500 metres away.
He adds that the surrounding area includes schools such as the Little Professor crèche on Elgin Road, making the consequences of a Boksburg blast too ghastly to contemplate.
Kriek said that in December, almost three years to the day since the Hospital Road tragedy, a gas tanker driver was approaching the traffic circle on the M57 and preparing to proceed onto the bridge when common sense thankfully prevailed.
Unfortunately, most drivers don’t do the right thing and disobey the height restriction.
When coming from the circle side of the bridge, trucks have usually slowed down, and when getting stuck, can extricate themselves by deflating their tyres.
However, when motoring down Elgin Road towards the roundabout, it’s usually not so easy to stop, and once lodged in the dip, freeing cargo carriers from what locals call “the truck eater”, is not so easy.
“It’s a serious concern, and the councillor in whose area the bridge is says funding has been set aside to do something about the problem, but we’re not seeing anything,” Kriek says.
He adds: “The real reason why this is left the way it is, is will. It seems to me there’s no sense of urgency for what could happen in the event of a serious incident at the bridge.”
Since becoming a councillor for Birchleigh and surrounds more than four years ago, Kriek has counted at least 200 trucks getting wedged under the bridge.
Asked what happens at council meetings, he says it’s not part of the regular agenda.
“I slip it into debate every so often, but the MMC for Roads and Transport Management avoids the issue.”
The particular member of the Mayoral Committee for Ekurhuleni, Andile Mngwevu, is currently not in a position to comment as he hasn’t returned from an official visit to Mozambique.
Media relations executive for the city, Zweli Dlamini, said the council continued to hope and pray for the MMC’s safe return from a visit during which his vehicle was presumably swept away by floodwater in the vicinity of Chokwe.
As for the accusation the council is facing about the bridge in Birchleigh, Dlamini said: “The matter is being processed by the roads department, and a response will be forwarded to you.”
Kriek says he can confirm that the problem is especially prevalent towards the end of every month when a certain pharmaceutical (*) outlet at Medipark on Elgin Road appears to be running low on stock.
The urgency of getting supplies through this and other retailers seems to be exacerbating the pressure on truck drivers to deliver at a certain time and date, often taking logistical chances by preferring dangerous shortcuts when they should take another route.
“I don’t think this outlet uses its own trucks, but they should know by now what happens on a regular basis, and you would imagine they would be sending out memos to their service provider.”
He said the same devil-may-care attitude had been observed after the Boksburg blast when it emerged that “the driver veered off course to get something to eat”.
Kriek believes there are enough digital means to warn drivers and fleet-monitored transporters when low bridges and the like loom ahead, with high-risk potential to fellow road users and residents.
He says geospatial mapping company AfriGIS has confirmed this.
“There’s really no reason why this long-standing issue should be left like this. We have enough clever engineers to solve this problem. Thankfully, it’s a very strong bridge.”
- The relevant chain of outlets has been approached for comment.
