08 June 2012
National Minister of Transport, Mr. Benedict Martins
Office of the Premier – Ms Thandi Modise
MEC for Public Works, Roads and Transport , Mr Mahlakeng Mahlakeng
Head of Department: Public Works, Roads and Transport, Ms Motlapele Ntshabele (Acting)
RE: Urgent Request for intervention - R511 – Atlanta to Assen
On the 5th of June 2012 a meeting was held in Atlanta regarding the above road. The Farmers in the area was supposed to meet with the Dept of Roads and Transport North West Province, but unfortunately the Dept did not send representatives from the Dept to the meeting, but instead sent 2 traffic officers from Assen! The purpose of the meeting was to inform the Dept of Transport that the R511 between Brits (Madibeng) and Thabazimbi is in dire need of rehabilitation. Parts of the road is at this stage not safe for the users of specifically the R511 road between Atlanta and Assen.
The road is non existant in some places and in others there is a 40cm drop between the road surface and the shoulder. This results in traffic using the shoulder instead. This in turn results in the severing of the main water lines of the Farming irrigation systems.
This road is used by Trucks and Heavy laden and abnormal vehicles that see the road as a welcome alternative to the toll road as this road does not have toll fees or a weigh bridge. Traffic law enforcement on this road is also not a high priority and this results in some trucks being overloaded. Naturally this results in the road not being able to withstand the high traffic volume of over laden heavy vehicles.
This particular stretch of road needs to be prioritized for emergency repairs as the accident rate is high on this road.
The Farmers have indicated that they foresee the closure of this road as imminent as this road cannot be classified as a road any more.
Claims against the state as a result of damage to property, injury and / or loss of life due to accidents because of bad road condition can result in claims amounting to millions, because it is the responsibility of the Department of Roads and Transport to provide a safe and sustainable road infrastructure.
I hope that the urgency of this request results in swift action by your dept that is in line and reflects the Vision and Mission of your departments.
Vision – “Safer public transport and sustained investment in physical public and roads infrastructure”
Mission - “To provide safer public transport, provincial land, building and roads infrastructure management systems toward a better life for all”
Elsa Lourens
083 449 8728
Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:08 pm