Heritage Cases

The IRPTN route between Edendale and Northdale will improve access into town for 60% of Pietermaritzburg’s population residing in these areas, who currently have only two access routes impeded by limited capacity and frequent congestion. A specialist traffic study conducted by MIKROS Traffic Monitoring indicates that the intersections along Moses Mabhida Road between Burger Street and Church Street currently operate at capacity during peak hours. Traffic diversion is therefore necessary along this section of the IRPTN route during its construction. Two diversion route alternatives were identified, namely the Burger-to-Pine Streets route and the Burger-to-West Streets route. The first alternative requires lane widening along the entire route and the upgrading of two unsignalised intersections, one of which would impede traffic flow on Jabu Ndlovu Street which is the primary exit road for traffic heading towards Edendale. Additionally, this route has limited expansion capacity. The second alternative requires the upgrading of the Burger Street / West Street intersection, with lane widening at the intersection only. The second alternative was hence identified as the more feasible diversion route. Apart from the necessary traffic diversion required during construction, the upgraded Burger Street / West Street intersection will, according to the specialist traffic study, provide a much needed improvement to traffic flow along West Street, which is itself a relatively major road, being a class 3 distributor accommodating both commercial and residential traffic.