The truck congestion leading into the Port of Richards Bay from the N2 highway has now extended into Pongola, and a new menace has developed with drivers trying to turn vehicles around on the two-lane highway as well as the John Ross highway leading to the port.
Mike Patterson, the Business Against Crime Executive Manager and Roads spokesperson for Zululand of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZCCI) told Freight News that trucks coming from the north queued up from the point where the glide off meets the John Ross highway to Richards Bay, as this is where the municipal traffic police stop them and wait for the port to give them instructions to release batches of 50.
“Any trucks that jump the queue or sneak in from the south have to travel north past Canefields and then do a U-turn to join the queue in the north. Some try to push in where they have a truck from the same company, which creates unhappiness.
“The U-turn causes a danger to road users who must travel north for personal or work reasons, but the tourists that normally travel to the game reserves and other resorts are making the choice not to do so due to the delays, but mostly the danger involved,” said Patterson.
He added that a stand-off resulted when the provincial traffic police – who want to clear the N2 – and the Umhlathuze City Police try to block the trucks. Recently, all N2 waiting trucks were released by a traffic official from the KZN Provincial Traffic Police and there was a total gridlock in Richards Bay.
It has also been announced that the Umhlathuze local council is to impose a toll fee on each truck of R30 per ton to try to fund expensive, un-provided for, policing of the chaos that has been created by the influx of coal-tipper trucks. Recently it announced that it had to hire more fixed-contract traffic police to try to put in place some system to make the situation more orderly.
