SA border posts busy as holiday traffic surges

PEOPLE are streaming through the country’s border posts and making a beeline for coastal towns as festive season travel gets under way in earnest.

Department of Home Affairs spokesman Thabo Mokgola‚ speaking from the border post at Ficksburg in the Free State‚ said yesterday: “Naturally you will see more traffic at ports of entry due to festive season travel.”

As holidaymakers leave Gauteng‚ traffic on major highways started backing up at toll plazas.

The SA National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral) has shared videos on Twitter to guide motorists through tolls and roadworks along the N1‚ N2 and N3 routes.

According to live traffic updates provided by Sanral‚ Cape Town experienced heavy delays on the N1 heading towards the city.

In Durban, the AA reported heavy delays on the N2 southbound.

On the N3‚ between Johannesburg and Durban‚ long queues formed at the Mariannhill Toll in the direction of Durban.

Traffic heading south towards Durban on the N3 between 11am and noon yesterday came to 1 280 cars passing through the Mooi Plaza‚ 840 at the De Hoek Plaza‚ 770 at the Tugela Plaza and 680 at the Wilge Plaza.

Johannesburg had seen a number of accidents yesterday morning‚ slowing traffic in Germiston‚ Edenvale and Eldorado Park.

Traffic is also heavy on the N1 southbound in Johannesburg at various points.

Mokgola joined Home Affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni and Lesotho Home Affairs principal secretary Borenahabokhete Sekonyela at the Ficksburg and Maseru Bridge entry ports, in a bid to urge Lesotho nationals to apply for special permits allowing them to study‚ work and do business in South Africa.

The Ficksburg border was busy‚ with traffic volumes expected to increase going both ways‚ Mokgola said.

“At Ficksburg we processed over 7 000 [people] just yesterday. You have over 120 000 people [coming through each year].

“Yesterday, we were at 119 000 [people], so you can imagine what’s going to happen next week.”

To cope with higher traffic volumes‚ the department has deployed additional staff to its entry ports.

It has also extended hours at some border posts.

Travellers going between South Africa and Zimbabwe have reportedly queued for hours at Beit Bridge this week.

Picture EUGENE COETZEE TRAFFIC SCRUTINY: The first road block of the festive season started yesterday shortly after 10am on the N2 near John Tallant Road, Swartkops, with 22 police members and 15 traffic officers manning the road block and searching all vehicles leaving...