Not only is the sinkhole on the R55 causing major delays for motorists, especially during peak-hour traffic, but the congestion along the route, just outside Laudium, has also been cited as the cause of many accidents.
In the most recent incident, the midday madness in the area, came to a screeching halt when two vehicles collided this past Wednesday, April 18, shortly after noon, on the R55, on the stretch just between 1st Avenue (Laudium main entrance) and 2nd Avenue. Just before the accident occurred, traffic was already backed-up far along the roadway, as a result of the sinkhole that has changed the dual carriageways into single lanes. The accident exacerbated the situation, with traffic backed up much further, causing local motorists to demand that Sastri Avenue in Claudius be opened up as an alternate route.
The Laudium Sun spoke to Ebrahim Dockrat from the Laudium Disaster Management, who was on the scene. Ebrahim said that details around the cause of the accident were sketchy, but it seemed as if the driver of a white Mercedes Benz C220 lost control and collided with a truck, causing traffic to come to a standstill. “According to the Atteridgeville truck driver, his truck was going north on the R55 on his way into Laudium, while the driver of the white Mercedes Benz was exiting Laudium, turning south onto the R55. The truck driver claimed that the Mercedes driver turned at a high-speed and lost control of his vehicle, hitting into the yellow barrier, before smashing into the front right-hand side of the truck. The truck driver and his passenger were not seriously injured but were still taken to a hospital,” Ebrahim said, adding that the driver of the Mercedes had already been rushed to hospital, by the time he got to the scene, so he could not comment on the extent of those injuries.
He also said that because of the traffic caused by the sinkhole, he firmly believes that the best solution would be to employ traffic control in the area, at peak times, to direct the flow of traffic.
The Laudium Sun also spoke to Councillor Mahomed Essop, who said, “It's going to take a long while before the sinkhole is fixed; it might take several months, but we are trying our best to get feedback from the MEC.” He added, “They might close the road completely, so as not to risk another accident. In that event, traffic will be redirected.”
Ebrahim Dockrat said that traffic came to a standstill because of the accident.
The vehicles that were involved in an accident on the R55, just outside Laudium, causing major traffic chaos.