A major part of one of the busiest roads in South Africa, the M1 in Johannesburg, has been re-opened to traffic after initial fears it would be closed for up to six months.
A major part of one of the busiest roads in South Africa, the M1 in Johannesburg, has been re-opened to traffic after initial fears it would be closed for up to six months.
The elevated highway was damaged after a fuel tanker exploded on it this week. The tanker overturned on the M1 South near the Empire road off-ramp during a deluge on Monday and crashed into a barrier. The storage tank was damaged and petrol spilled out and caught fire.
The disaster caused major traffic problems after the road had to be closed. According to , the highway carries 11 500 vehicles an hour on a slow day.
It had been feared that the high temperature of the fire, which reached about 800 degrees Celsius, may have caused major structural damage to the elevated highway. The bridge would then have had to be rebuilt at a cost of about R15 million and closed for about six months.
Two lanes of the M1, the on-ramp from Jan Smuts Avenue and the off-ramp on to Empire Road were re-opened on Wednesday.
“The slow lane and the on-ramp on to the M1 South from Empire road is still closed while we wait for the results of tests on the road,” said Johannesburg Metro Police deputy director head of communications, CC Mackay.
He said there was a bottleneck due to the slow lane being closed, but traffic was returning to normal. As a precaution Mackay said they have asked that trucks use an alternative route. “We are not enforcing it, but it would also help with congestion on the road while the slow lane is closed,” Mackay said.
