Let heavy vehicles use the R72 but for a price

Regarding your article on the R72 crash, for some time I have informally done a count of heavy duty vehicles travelling on the R72 between Alex and Port Alfred, compared with those which travel on the N2 via Makhanda to East London.

The difference is staggering and underlines the need and desirability of major vehicles being encouraged to use the N2 which was constructed to carry such vehicles. My thinking is that this might be done by tolling at Nanaga those heavy vehicles which wish to use the R72, while those using the N2 go toll free.

I can understand that this would not be a straightforward operation but if one balances those costs against the cost of frequently reinstating the R72 damaged by these overweight vehicles and the dangers caused by impatient drivers trying to overtake the long queues of vehicles behind heavy trucks on the R72, a case must be made out to encourage the provincial or national traffic authority to give attention to the proposal.

While there will be an argument that travelling via the N2 results in additional distance to be covered, if one measures the distance from Gqeberha to East London via the R72 it is approximately 291km. If one travels the N2 from Gqeberha via Makhanda and Qonce to East London, it is approximately 312km in other words, a difference of 21km.

With a heavy vehicle, additional kilometres can probably translate to significant costs; but the benefits of using the wider N2 vs the narrow road for the 50km between Alexandria and Port Alfred must surely be a significant factor in itself, having regard for example, to negotiating the two steep declines/inclines on the western and eastern entrances to Port Alfred .

I believe that formally recoding the traffic flow for submission to the traffic authorities would support this informal assessment.