Traffic was heavy on Johannesburg roads on Wednesday morning as motorist continued to avoid provincial tolled highways, Johannesburg metro police said.<\/p>\n
“Over and above, people are using alternative routes and they have been avoiding the N1, N3, and N12 since yesterday,” spokeswoman Edna Mamonyane said.<\/p>\n
She said traffic on the M1 North to the Johannesburg city centre was very heavy.<\/p>\n
The flow was also affected by traffic lights not working at major intersections.<\/p>\n
Mamonyane said she did not know how long motorists would avoid the tolled routes.<\/p>\n
“We cannot say if motorists will eventually get e-tags or not at all.”<\/p>\n
Democratic Alliance Gauteng MPL Neil Campbell said the alternative routes were not viable.<\/p>\n
“One of the roads on this list of alternatives is Witkoppen Road which already carries a huge volume of traffic and has a collapsing bridge.”<\/p>\n
Prominent engineers had expressed serious concerns regarding motorists’ safety on the road but nothing had been done to fix the bridge.<\/p>\n
“I hope no lives are lost before this process is complete as the blame for any loss of life will then rest squarely on the shoulders of [Gauteng roads and transport MEC Ismail Vadi].”<\/p>\n
Vadi’s spokeswoman Octavia Mamabolo could not be immediately reached for comment.<\/p>\n
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