Highway to hell: Joburg M1 clogs up

The M1 South has been reduced to two lanes between the Killarney off-ramp and St Andrews. Picture: Chris Collingridge / Independent Media.

The M1 South has been reduced to two lanes between the Killarney off-ramp and St Andrews. Picture: Chris Collingridge / Independent Media.

Published May 30, 2016

Share

Johannesburg - Thousands of vehicles were backed up along the M1 for several kilometres on Monday morning as the Joburg Roads Agency (JRA) started the next stage of the major rehabilitation of three bridges along the freeway.

Motorists scrambled to find alternative routes as the M1 South was reduced to just two lanes.

This caused cars to line up for kilometres on the south-bound freeway, particularly in the Killarney area, which was worst hit.

In a bid to escape the traffic nightmare, some motorists opted to use the yellow lane on the highway, which is reserved for emergencies.

But one motorist took it a step further and parked his car in this south-bound lane as he waited for peak traffic to die down.

James Jacobs uses the M1, one of the busiest freeways in Africa, daily as he commutes from Pretoria to work in the Joburg CBD.

“I pulled off because I was wasting my time in this traffic,” he told The Star.

“I'm going to have to leave for work even earlier now because of these lanes being closed.”

Jacobs said he had been inconvenienced since the rehabilitation project started in March and had often arrived late for work.

These sentiments were echoed by another motorist, Mduduzi Ntuli, who missed a work meeting as he ran out of petrol from sitting in the traffic.

“This traffic is killing us. I didn't expect it to be so bad today.”

He had to leave his car stuck on the freeway while he ran to a nearby petrol station in Killarney to get fuel.

“I had planned to refill my tank in town, but this traffic got me from Pretoria and if there was no traffic, I would have made it,” he said.

Ntuli said he would start using the Gautrain to get to work from tomorrow.

Alternative routes clogged up too

Even though scores of commuters opted to use the highway despite the lane closures, others decided to rather find alternative routes, but this resulted in other major routes, including Jan Smuts Avenue, also piling up with cars.

The JRA has appealed to motorists to be patient.

“We are making excellent progress with the construction on this important artery that contributes to the economic growth of the entire Gauteng,” said Sean Phillips, managing director of the JRA.

“While the JRA is taking every possible precaution to ensure the safety of road users and to minimise traffic disruptions during construction, this next stage will inevitably lead to delays, especially during peak periods.”

As from Monday, the following traffic restrictions will apply:

- In addition to the north-bound carriageway, which has already been reduced to two lanes, the south-bound carriageway of the M1 (carrying traffic from Midrand) will be reduced to two lanes between the Killarney and St Andrews off-ramps.

- The southern on-ramp on to the M1 from Oxford Road will be closed at Ettrick Road.

- Certain lanes on the double-decker section will continue to be closed until July next year during weekdays between 9.30am and 2.30pm. Construction will be halted during morning and afternoon peak hours.

- The JRA has placed a tow truck on stand-by to remove stationary vehicles from the construction zones and keep traffic flowing.

To add to motorists’ misery, the price of fuel goes up from Wednesday - diesel by 76c a litre and petrol by 52c a litre.

The Star

Related Topics: