Good news about broken traffic lights in South Africa’s richest province

The Gauteng Roads and Transport Department is embarking on a drive to repair and restore critical intersections along its road network.

This restoration and maintenance programme involves ongoing efforts to integrate the latest technology and combat high rates of infrastructure vandalism and crime in the Greater Johannesburg area.

According to the department, work to rebuild vandalised intersections will include added safety features and secure components.

This includes strengthened controller boxes, underground chambers, secure bollards around poles as well as CCTV cameras with built-in intelligent analytics.

The work is seen as critical in the restoration programme to improve safety and facilitate mobility at critical intersections in and around Gauteng.

Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, has also appealed for the public to assist in protecting the province’s road infrastructure.

She called on all road users, including motorists, bikers, pedestrians, and runners, to play their part in the province’s efforts.

“If you see or witness suspicious activity, theft and vandalism, kindly report to authorities. Working together, we can secure and sustain the infrastructure that serves us all,” declared the MEC.

“We plead to communities to immediately report any suspicious acts of vandalism or theft of traffic signals to law-enforcement agencies for action.”

Diale-Tlabela called on the South African Police Service (SAPS), municipal law-enforcement, and community policing forums to intensify efforts to safeguard public infrastructure and bring perpetrators to justice.

The department is also exploring cost-recovery measures to recuperate funds for damaged infrastructure due to crashes.

It added that there is a growing concern that this exacerbates downtime and undermines the province’s restoration efforts.

“Public infrastructure destruction also places an unnecessary financial burden on the provincial coffers through costly repairs and restoration work,” said the MEC.

She further added that “these acts pose a security risk and lead to disruptions in the movement of goods, emergency services, public transport operations and broader economic activity”.

“We now look forward to seeing more intersections repaired and restored to facilitate movement and safety along critical corridors in the province.”

Gauteng’s first intersections to be modernised

Diale-Tlabela confirmed that repair work has started and will continue at several critical intersections in the Greater Johannesburg area, which includes Ekurhuleni, but excludes Pretoria and its surrounds.

Work to modernise the following intersections in Johannesburg and surrounds will start at the following intersections:

• Cedar Road and Fourways
• R59 and Swartkoppies South
• Winnie Mandela Drive and Kingfisher
• Kliprivier and JG Strydom
• Christiaan de Wet and Hendrik Potgieter Road (Quarterlink)
• Christiaan de Wet and John Vorster
• Christiaan de Wet and Paul Kruger/Scott Avenue
• Hendrik Potgieter and Doreen/Peter Roads
• Hendrik Potgieter and Falls (Pleasure Resort)
• Hendrik Potgieter and Handicap Road
• Hendrik Potgieter and Jim Fouche Road
• Hendrik Potgieter and Nic Diederichs Boulevard

In the City of Ekurhuleni, the following intersections along R23 (Heidelberg Road) are currently under construction or repairs:

• R23 North and N12 (Benoni)
• R23 South and N12 (Benoni)
• R23 and Bessie Hein (next to Makro – Brakpan)
• R23 and Mall@Carnival (Brakpan)
• R23 and Viking (Brakpan)
• R23 and Elsburg (Boksburg)

The department’s decision to omit intersections in Pretoria and Centurion is interesting, since several high-traffic areas in South Africa’s capital and surrounds still lack working traffic lights.

Centurion has such severe infrastructure theft problems that traffic lights at key intersections are being replaced with stop signs.

These intersections could well benefit from the department’s drive to improve traffic light and infrastructure security, though it remains to be seen if this will be the case.