N1 lane closures due to flooding cause traffic snarl-ups in Cape Town

Capetonians have been warned to expect heavy traffic congestion heading into the city centre as some lanes of the N1 remain closed due to flooding after a series of cold fronts soaked the province.

The provincial department of infrastructure decided earlier this week to close some lanes, in both directions, near Sable Road in Century City.

“Large pools of water on the road after two weeks of heavy rain have made this necessary” said the department.

“It is unsafe to travel on a wet and flooded road surface, especially at speed, because vehicle tyres tend to lose contact with the road, causing vehicles to aquaplane and drivers to lose control. This is an unacceptable safety risk and public safety must come first.”

Engineering teams were on site to find alternative ways to supplement stormwater drainage in the affected areas.

“Our team of engineers and teams on the ground are using all appropriate measures and techniques to address the problem as soon as possible,” said Chantal Smith, newly appointed head of the department of infrastructure.

“We thank road users for their patience, we understand your frustrations. Thank you also to our teams working through the night to find solutions and to our partners for their support,” she added.

The department said it could not predict how long it would take for the excess water to drain so that all three lanes of the road could be reopened. The South African Weather Service has issued an advisory for orange level 5 disruptive rain over Cape Town and surrounding municipalities on Saturday,

“The Western Cape government is aware the lane closures are causing heavy congestion. The closures are close to the point where traffic joins from the N7 southbound into town and multiple other routes joining the N1 inbound,” said the department.

“This is causing significant tailbacks on the N1 inbound and secondary roads. Road users are asked to use alternative routes, if possible, when heading towards the Cape Town city centre or Century City and factor in a significant amount of additional travel time and to avoid any non-essential travel along this route for the time being.”

The warning for more disruptive rain coincides with one of the busiest days of the week for city cemeteries — Saturday.

“Our cemeteries are busy on weekends and this weekend will be no different. Our teams are on hand to ensure operations proceed as smoothly as possible under the circumstances, but if the forecast holds there is likely to be an impact,” said community services and health MMC Patricia van der Ross on Thursday.

“Cape Town has experienced a lot of rain this month, so the soil remains saturated. As we’ve indicated before, this could affect grave depths or reopening of existing graves for second burials, resulting in delays or even force the use of an alternate grave.

“I call on funeralgoers to try to expedite burials so we can manage traffic in and out of cemeteries, but also limit people’s exposure to conditions underfoot.”

TimesLIVE