The South African National Road Agency (Sanral) has sent out a warning to motorists to expect road closures on the N1 Northbound between Botha Avenue and N1/R21 (Flying Saucer interchange) in Centurion.
This is to allow for rehabilitation work on the sinkhole that formed near the edge of the slow lane at the start of January, said Sanral.
The lane closures on the N1 section 21 will be implemented as follows:
- Wednesday, 23 February 2022 at 22h00 to Thursday, 24 February 2022 at 04h00.
- Thursday, 24 February 2022 at 22h00 to Friday, 25 February 2022 at 04h00.
This time will be used for gravity survey testing in the lanes of the northbound carriageway as part of the geotechnical investigations required for the remediation works on the sinkhole, said Progress Hlahla, Sanral’s northern regional manager.
“During this period only two lanes will be open. The duration of the closure will be kept as short as possible,” said Hlahla.
“Motorists are requested to plan their trips accordingly, consider alternative routes and use caution when making use of the roads.”
Olifantsfontein sinkhole
On Monday, 14 February, not far from the N1 sinkhole near Centurion, two more sinkholes formed along the R21 near Olifantsfontein.
“One sinkhole developed just outside our road reserve fence boundary, and the second one immediately adjacent to the edge of the R21, penetrating about two meters underneath the road up to the slow lane and five to six meters deep currently,” said Louw Kannemeyer, Sanral’s engineering executive.
Cracks formed on the road surface in the outer two slow lanes of the R21, resulting in the immediate closure of these lanes, he said.
Sanral has now also installed concrete barriers on these roads to control traffic flow, resulting in the R21 northbound being reduced to two lanes in the direction of Pretoria until the rehabilitation of the sinkholes is complete.
“How long that will take is dependent on [the] extent of the sinkhole, which at this stage remains to be quantified,” said Kannemeyer.
On 16 February, Sanral was in the process of appointing geotechnical engineering specialists who are able to assist with the required investigations, it said.
N1 sinkhole
Photos by FirstHelp.
Keyword: N1 sinkhole being repaired – This is when the road will be closed