The R34/R66 highway was blocked off by protesters just outside Melmoth towards Vryheid on Friday morning. The communities in the Mthonjaneni are protesting over the high number of trucks recently on the highway, which has increased the number of crashes involving trucks.
In the past week, at least eight truck accidents have occurred in the Mthonjaneni area. Trucks flocked onto the R34/R66 after being stopped from using the N2 through Pongola following a horrific truck accident in which 20 people lost their lives.
The communities brought the R34/R66 to a standstill as they appealed to the transport minister to intervene with urgent control measures to ensure public safety on the roads by prohibiting trucks from using this route.
Since the N2 Pongola fatal accident between a coal-carrying truck and a bakkie transporting schoolchildren, the communities of that area have barred side-tipper trucks from using the N2.
As a result, the R34/R66 route via Ulundi and Melmoth has become clogged with trucks day and night, placing the safety of other road users at risk, and strain on this road which is not equipped for heavy loads.
According to Zululand Observer, the road was reopened around 10h00 after being closed for at least four hours.
