Hundreds of angry locals took to the streets and blockaded the the N2 in Murchison, on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, to protest poor service delivery on Wednesday morning.
Spokesperson for the Ray Nkonyeni municipality, Simon April, said the unrest erupted some time before 7.30am.
He said when authorities arrived, a crowd of between 300 and 500 had gathered and were burning tyres in the road.
Police attended the scene and the busy freeway was closed, with traffic having to be rerouted, he said.
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April said the local leadership met early before engaging with protesters, who handed over a memorandum of their grievances.
These grievances centred around the provision of housing, unemployment, questions about the use of government funds and road safety issues.
April said they agreed to respond to the community within three days.
The crowds were dispersed by mid-morning and the freeway was re-opened by lunch time.