Durban – The bridge and roads that were closed by an early morning blaze in Durban following a collision between two diesel tankers are likely to be fully operational by late Tuesday night.
EThekwini Metro Police spokesman Superintendent Eugene Msomi said the city’s engineering experts had declared the Sarnia Road Bridge to be safe shortly after 3pm on Tuesday afternoon.
Two south-bound lanes on the N2 had been opened and Msomi said he expected that the northbound lanes would be reopened later on Tuesday night.
He said that Sarnia Road, which links the suburbs of Bellair and Hillary had also been reopened. Residents in Bellair and Hillary, suburbs that straddle either side of the N2 motorway, were awakened to loud bangs, a huge plume of black smoke and massive flames in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
“The two tankers collided. We are not sure what happened because we still have to interview the drivers, but both tankers are just a piece of metal,” said Msomi.
Both drivers escaped the blaze with minor injuries according to Robert McKenzie, spokesman of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial Emergency Medical Service.
The blaze on the N2 under the Sarnia Road Bridge was put out by the eThekwini Metro Fire Brigade.
Morning rush hour traffic was severely affected as motorists, especially from the city’s southern suburbs had to find alternative routes to work.
Commuters from Queensburgh into the city and southern industrial areas were also forced to find alternative routes as a result of the bridge’s closure.
Metro Rail spokesman Danny Hattingh said that the commuter rail services between Durban and Pinetown were temporarily disrupted as smoke impaired the vision of the drivers. Two trains were slightly delayed.
He said that engineers for Prasa, which operates Metrorail, had inspected the rail bridge next to the Sarnia Road Bridge and had declared it safe.
ANA