Heavy duty trucks barred from municipal roads

LYDENBURG – The Thaba Chweu Local Municipality has won a long legal battle against truck companies, prohibiting them from driving on municipal roads.
The ruling directed truck companies to use the R577 and R540 roads that connect to the N4 towards Mbombela and Gauteng.
The ruling was handed down after the truck companies submitted an urgent application in the High Court to interdict the municipality from enforcing the by-laws.
The municipality gazetted the by-laws early this year prohibiting heavy-duty trucks weighing 10 tons from driving through the town. Subsequently, TCLM consulted with the affected parties, including truck companies, to consider alternative routes that included the usage of provincial roads which can accommodate heavy loads.
“The truck companies approached the High Court, which ruled in favour of the municipality and dismissed the matter with costs against the truck companies,” said the municipality’s spokesperson, Themba Sibiya.
The state of the roads in the municipality has deteriorated due to the increased volume of heavy trucks that drive through the town from surrounding mines.
Sibiya said the municipality will continue to enforce the by-laws and reroute the trucks as they damage municipal infrastructure that includes road signage, traffic lights, drainage system and other assets of the municipality.
“The trucks are further barred from driving on the scenic Panorama Route which is the gateway to most tourist attractions in the area. Trucks transporting minerals and metals from the local mines and smelters, now need to use provincial roads,” he added.
Meanwhile, the municipality is undergoing a rigorous road repair and maintenance programme to repair damaged roads. The local Booysendal Mine has joined in the bandwagon to assist the municipality to rehabilitate the De Clerq and Potgieter Streets in town.