NATIONAL NEWS - Africa’s longest road tunnel, the Huguenot Tunnel on the N1 in the Du Toitskloof mountains near Paarl, will be closed for at least another week following the bus fire inside the tunnel late Friday night, 3 October.
According to Sanral, the 3,9 km tunnel, that links Paarl and Worcester, has carried more than 125 million vehicles in 36 years.
Sanral has confirmed that engineering assessments conducted this weekend indicates that the tunnel’s structural integrity remains sound.
However, several critical repairs are required before the tunnel may be safely reopened to traffic.
Independent structural inspections and follow-up technical assessments were completed late Sunday night.
The inspections further revealed that while the tunnel ceiling and roadway remain structurally sound, certain wall panels, cabling systems, and lighting infrastructure have been damaged beyond repair by the fire and heat exposure and will require replacement.
Key remedial actions currently underway include:
- Removal of all loose material on the road surface, walls and ceiling.
- Replacing a number of wall panel fittings.
- Repairing and testing sections of the fire detection, lighting systems and other operational infrastructure.
“Our teams are working around the clock to restore the tunnel to a safe operational condition,” said Randall Cable, Sanral’s Western Cape Provincial Head.
“The safety of motorists remains our foremost priority, and we will reopen the tunnel once we are confident that we meet the minimum required standards for safe operation.
"We are also mindful that a closed tunnel results in significant inconvenience and safety concerns to road users on other alternative routes, hence we are working with speed.”
Additional resources and teams have been mobilised to accelerate the repairs and more comprehensive repair works will be done during future controlled closures.
“A further update on progress and the anticipated reopening timeline will be provided once all final verifications are complete. At this stage we are optimistic looking at opening the tunnel within a week or slightly more, if all goes according to plan,” said Cable.
Motorists are urged to plan their journeys, accordingly, use alternate routes with caution allowing additional travel time due to anticipated congestion.
Alternative routes include:
- From Worcester to Cape Town - via Wolseley-Wellington-Paarl to N1
- From Cape Town to Worcester - via Paarl-Wolseley-Worcester
- The N2 can be accessed via Worcester and Villiersdorp
- Bainskloof Pass is open to light motor vehicles only
- R101 Du Toitkloof Pass is open with at least two stop/go in place (expect delays)
- Heavy vehicles to avoid R46 (Touwsriver-Ceres-Gouda-Cape Town) due to 15 m length limit on Franschoek Pass
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