FOR more than a year the east-bound western bypass (N2) near the Stanford Road off-ramp has been a problem. The road is breaking up and has undulations in it.
This was attended to a while ago, not very successfully. I have written and phoned in about these bumps and other bumps on the freeways.
I urged the authorities to put up warning signs, though none were erected until recently when 100km/h, then 80km/h signs appeared at the Stanford Road off-ramp. The road is so bad that a trailer lost its load in spite of the 80km/h limit – it should have been 40km/h!
One Friday night I predicted to a friend while driving down the freeway that an accident was going to happen. Well it did on the Saturday morning when a truck was destroyed, bringing hundreds of motorists to a halt with a traffic jam all the way up the freeway to Cotswold.
If the traffic police had been on their toes, they would have blocked the freeway at the Kragga Kamma interchange, but that only happened after about half an hour with hundreds of cars in the jam. There was chaos, motorists turned around and travelled the wrong way up the freeway.
In emergency situations you will often find five or six police cars at an accident, but none preventing other problems further back on the road.
Authorities need to heed the warnings of residents who use that freeway daily, and put up warning signs and speed limits on all of the undulations on these freeways. There are two more in the vicinity of Eveready near the Kempston Road off-ramp and another opposite the post office on Settlers freeway heading south.
All of them have already caused accidents, but no warning signs.
Another accident waiting to happen is on the part of the Settlers freeway from the Deal Party interchange heading towards the city. The lights don't work on most of the road and the lines have not been painted.
At night you haven't a clue which lane you're in. Cars are joining the freeway at speed from all directions into three lanes that can't be seen at night and definitely not in the rain.
The lines that have been painted are on the N2 and are excellent guides in the darkness of the unlighted parts of the N2.
Please paint the lines and put up warning signs as a matter of urgency. We are endangering our lives every time we travel on these roads.
The metro must take responsibility. This is not an expensive or difficult exercise we are requesting.
M Abrey, Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth
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