Cape Town motorists urged to factor in extra travel time as flooding aftermath causes road havoc

23 Jul 2024

Few people have escaped the winter downpours and stormy conditions in Cape Town and beyond. On the road, failures of the stormwater drain system caused multiple lane closures on the N1 and massive traffic congestion this week.

The flooding in Cape Town has left a trail of destruction, with a primary concern being the closure of the N1 highway around Century City, which has resulted in massive traffic congestion and lengthy delays for commuters during rush hour.

Over the past week, the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure has announced more than 23 transport infrastructure and road closures, urging motorists to be cautious on the roads due to extreme weather conditions. The department said the flooding of the N1 northbound near Sable Road was because the wetland in the rail reserve close to Century city had reached its capacity during the past week’s harsh weather.

Warning

The City of Cape Town issued a warning, indicating numerous road closures in the CBD that started on Monday, 15 July, to last until Friday, 26 July. Although there were clearer skies this weekend, Capetonians can brace for further chances of rain this week, according to the South African Weather Services.

Motorists have been left with no choice but to navigate to other open roads and deal with traffic. Traffic SA has reported on the N1 heavy traffic, stating that “alternative routes are the big issues this morning”.

The floods of the past few weeks exposed capacity levels in the city’s drainage system, leading to widespread damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure. This led to Alan Winde, the premier of the Western Cape, announcing a disaster declaration in the province.

READ MORE: Heavy rains, gale-force winds, big swells, and flooding in the Western Cape

The provincial infrastructure department released a statement on 21 July, 2024, stating that the wetland area in the reserve had reached its capacity and that: “Despite running at a full capacity, the stormwater system cannot drain the roadway quickly enough. Water is backing up on the N1, which has resulted in multiple lane closures.” The department further warned motorists to reduce speed and factor in additional travel time.

This comes two days after the Western Cape provincial Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers, addressed (on 19 July, 2024) infrastructure challenges dating back to 2022 by saying: ‘The Western Cape has experienced numerous extreme weather occurrences since 2022, significantly impacting our infrastructure, especially in human settlements and transport sectors. As the provincial minister of infrastructure, I want to address the ongoing challenges and actions being taken to mitigate these impacts.”

Vulnerabilities exacerbated

Simmers further stated that: “Infrastructure is designed and constructed to withstand certain stress levels based on past experiences, data, and predictions. However, when severe weather events occur in close succession, it exacerbates vulnerabilities. Saturated areas that do not have sufficient time to dry out are particularly at risk, increasing the likelihood of infrastructure failure.”

According to Simmers, In June 2023 heavy downpours caused river flooding on the main R310 between Citrusdal and Ceres. The flooding was caused by agricultural practices, rerouting, and insufficient maintenance, and the road was rebuilt as a permanent project.

This year, at the beginning of July, similar damage to the infrastructure occurred on another side of the R310, which left the rebuilt road from June 2023 standing. Currently, the South African National Defense Force is working to create a temporary bypass road, and developing a permanent future-proof access transport infrastructure.

Simmers assured Western Cape residents that they were working on rebuilding the infrastructure, saying: “My department is in liaison with the relevant provincial departments and sector partners around the maintenance of catchment and river banks, to mitigate the severity of floods. Investigations are ongoing to determine the necessary actions for rebuilding the road. We aim to start repair works when a viable solution is ready, and circumstances allow.” DM

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Warning

Vulnerabilities exacerbated