Sanral warns of R21 northbound lane closures to repair sinkholes
16TH FEBRUARY 2022
BY: SCHALK BURGER
CREAMER MEDIA SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
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Two sinkholes formed on February 14 along the R21 northbound carriageway towards Pretoria, past the Olifantsfontein interchange. The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral), therefore, cautions the public and road users of road closures.
“The R21 northbound will be reduced to two lanes in the direction of Pretoria just after the Olifantsfontein interchange for the foreseeable future, resulting in associated congestion during peak hour periods.
“Road users are advised to take this into account in their daily planning and consider alternative routes such as the M18 and M57, which run parallel to the west of the R21 in the vicinity of the affected area,” says Sanral engineering executive Louw Kannemeyer.
“One sinkhole developed just outside our road reserve fence boundary, and the second one immediately adjacent to the edge of the R21, penetrating about 2 m underneath the road up to the slow lane and is 5 m to 6 m deep currently,” he points out.
Cracks also formed in the road surface in the outer two slow lanes, which called for the immediate closure of the outer two lanes of the road.
The lane closures will remain in place until the specialist investigations and remedial measures have been implemented. How long that will take is dependent on the extent of the sinkhole, which, at this stage, remains to be quantified.
“Preliminary assessments have been performed by Sanral engineers and we are currently in process with the emergency appointment of the required geotechnical engineering specialists to assist with the specialist investigations required,” says Kannemeyer.
During this period, Sanral will install New Jersey concrete barriers to ensure public safety, similar to those applied at a sinkhole on the N1, while awaiting the outcome of the investigations.