Road users have expressed their dissatisfaction regarding the poor condition of the R31 detour roads.
IT IS STILL not clear as to how long the section of the R31 road between Koopmansfontein and Danielskuil will be closed for repairs.
It is also not clear how long the repairs that are under way on the R31 between Kimberley and Barkly West will take.
The Northern Cape Department of Roads and Public Works referred road users to their Facebook page for updates.
The department had indicated that repairs on the road are taking longer due to the need to use additional material after the water levels adjacent to the road increased due to the recent rains.
According to the department, continuous rainfall led to the demand for additional material, ongoing blading of the road and the pumping and draining of water on the affected road.
The MEC for Roads and Public Works, Fufe Makatong, has made several trips to the area to check on the work in progress.
Road users have, however, expressed their dissatisfaction regarding the poor condition of the detour roads.
They also slammed the department for failing to maintain the R31, which many regard as a “killer road”.
They complained that the detour roads were not being maintained or prepared in advance before being recommended.
A number of motorists also complained that the Schmidtsdrift detour road was too long, making it a nightmare when they had to share it with trucks.
The department said on its Facebook page that it had bladed the MR809 Schmidtsdrift to Papkuil road on Friday, April 1.
The road, however, became a “muddy mess” due to heavy rains just two days after being bladed.
A number of vehicles, including several trucks, got stuck in the mud.
Apparently, only a certain portion of the road was re-bladed after the rains, while the rest of the road remained “a nightmare”.
Motorists have aired their frustrations on social media about the poor conditions of some of the detour roads and of having to travel long distances to their destinations.
People who use public transport from Kimberley to Postmasburg also expressed dissatisfaction that the closure of the road has resulted in them now spending more money on transport.
The passengers said that the taxis prefer to ferry commuters from Kimberley to Postmasburg using the Vryburg to Kuruman road to avoid damaging their vehicles on the long gravel road.
One customer said he had to spend three times the amount of money on public transport to Postmasburg than he usually did.
He said he usually spends around R120 for transport but ended up spending R400.
“I parted with too much money. I spent R200 to Vryburg, R150 to Kuruman and R50 to Postmasburg,” he said.
“I know that the petrol price also played a role in the amount I spend but I am disappointed in our provincial government for not seeing this coming. Motorists have been complaining that there has not been much road left on the R31 for ages and they have been ignored.
“Not a week has gone by without us reading about people dying on that road.
“We are paying for pure incompetence of those employed to fix the roads.”
Another regular road user also expressed frustration that he suffers from fatigue after the long distance he now has to travel.
He said the decision to use the Vryburg road to Postmasburg and Kuruman is not helping.
“For the past two weeks, when I leave Kimberley at 2am I only arrive home at around 11pm. Using the R31, I used to be back in Kimberley at around 3pm after leaving at 2am.“I have been avoiding driving on the Schmidtsdrift detour, which is approximately four hours, and protecting my tyres, but it is no use.”
