The Northern Cape provincial government has recently received a number of complaints about the state of the road between Koopmansfontein and Danielskuil and it appears that they have now heard the cries of the many motorists who make use of the deadly road.
THE NORTHERN Cape provincial government has recently received a number of complaints about the state of the road between Koopmansfontein and Danielskuil and it appears that they have now heard the cries of the many motorists who make use of the deadly road.
This part of the R31 has been called the “road of death” because of the numerous accidents and extremely hazardous road conditions caused by the enormous potholes and edge breaks.
I was one of the drivers that lamented the state of the road because my wife and I have travelled on it a number of times. The road was in such a horrible shape that I had to swerve out of the way of approaching trucks in order to avoid the huge potholes and edge breaks on the side of the road. Since doing so would probably constitute a death wish, I would never drive that road at night.
But despite knowing in the back of my mind that the road’s condition would be poor, I drove back to Kuruman with my wife on Wednesday. To my astonishment, however, all of the edge breaks on the side of the road leading to Danielskuil were mended and the potholes were filled from Koopmansfontein to Danielskuil. It made the trip feel a little less perilous.
However, while I was heading to Danielskuil, I observed on the oncoming side of the road that there were still a few edge breaks and potholes, but they were much fewer than they had been before.
It was heartening to see how much of a difference the efforts to fix the road had made.
That said, while much has been done to temporarily restore the road, there are still about three or four potholes and a couple of edge breaks that might be dangerous for road users.
That part of the road is currently under construction, as seen by the grader and other equipment that were spotted maintaining the road. Hopefully, the work being done on the road will make the road totally safe to drive on.
We’ll have to wait and see how long the road will remain in good condition while vehicles and trucks continue to use it every day.
