Toll road will save lives
The continued delay in the much-needed infrastructure upgrades which make up the N1/N2 Winelands Toll Project comes at a significant cost to the safety of road users and pedestrians, says the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL).
The agency's communications manager, Vusi Mona, says the litigation by the City of Cape Town to have the entire project reviewed by the Cape High Court is stopping vital upgrades and changes on these highways intended to increase safety.
"For example, the delay in the realignment of the N2 through Somerset West, which is a chronic bottleneck for traffic flow, is also the most hazardous location on the network. The unnecessary loss of life could have been prevented, or at the very least reduced the risk of serious injury and death, if much-needed and appropriate infrastructure such as a new interchange and new pedestrian bridges were allowed to have been implemented."
The intersection at the foot of Sir Lowry's Pass has become the scene of the most horrific crashes due to runaway heavy vehicles descending the pass. The planned interchange and other remedial measures which form part of the N1/N2 Winelands project would have mitigated this.
Furthermore, 3 800 pedestrians, including scores of schoolchildren, cross the very busy Trunk Road 2 (N2 through Somerset West), every weekday.
In the period January 2012 to December 2014 there were at least 31 incidents involving pedestrians, resulting in eight known fatalities and many more serious injuries on this portion of the road alone.
There are no pedestrian bridges on this road and pedestrians are continuously exposed to high traffic volumes and speeds. The delayed N1/N2 Winelands Toll Project intended the rerouting of N2 traffic through Somerset West, as well as constructing a number of pedestrian bridges over the new N2, including a new pedestrian bridge over the existing Trunk Road 2 near the schools.
Mona says any further delays in implementing the N1/N2 Winelands Toll Project will undoubtedly increase the danger to the safety of road users and pedestrians.