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120 000 COPIES WEEKLY WEDNESDAY February 21, 2018 | 0 041 503 6111 | Email express@media24.com | www.peexpress.co.za | PE Express Newspaper | @PEExpress1
EDITOR: BETTIE GILIOMEE
NEW ELECTRONIC TRAFFIC LIGHTS TO REPLACE INEFFECTIVE BOOM GATES
Early warning for Third Avenue dip THANDI SETOKOE
A
N electronic traffic light system has now officially been activated on the top of the Third Avenue dip in Newton Park. This light will now alert motorists not to pass through when the road has been closed off due to heavy rainfall which results in the low-level bridge flooding. Speaking at the launch last week Tuesday, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Safety and Security at Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality John Best said the system, controlled from the control room at the South End Fire station, was crucial to avoid major disrup-
tion to motorists since the road was used daily as a major thoroughfare. “The boom gates currently used were ineffective. People were cutting the locks and driving through regardless. They really don’t comprehend the danger of crossing the bridge once it has flooded,” Best said. He said he had witnessed incidents where vehicles had been swept off the bridge, adding that it didn’t take a lot of rain to flood the bridge – just 25mm of rain, then the bridge would start overflowing slightly. “This is all in the safety of our motorists. Through disaster management and information technology departments, we have come up with this electronic idea and it’s a concept that we believe will work.
“As soon as the bridge gets to a certain level where it is unsafe to cross, there will be a call made to the control room. The control room will then switch on the traffic lights which will go red,” Best described. He said traffic signs would be put up and a fine of R1 500 could be issued to offenders who disregarded the traffic signs. Explaining the benefits of the new electronic system, Best said the problem with the booms was that they were very manpowerintensive. “Once we realise there is a flood, we send officers to physically close the booms. “Frustration follows when the dip is safe and the booms are still locked. “We then have to send officers urgently to
unlock them and at times some of the officers are off duty. So, we want to remove the booms totally and have an electronic system that will work.” Best said the booms would be removed within six months when the new electronic system proved to be fully effective. He further added that the second phase of the electronic system would include lights on the William Moffett Expressway. “The problem is once you have turned off William Moffett into the Third Avenue dip area and it’s closed, it becomes an inconvenience to turn around. The road can also be opened with much less effort when water levels have subsided enough to allow traffic to pass through again,” Best said.
SA Agulhas returns from Antarctica
The SA Agulhas dropped anchor on home sail again in Port Elizabeth last week Friday. The vessel, which is the South African Maritime Safety Authority’s (SAMSA) dedicated training vessel, sailed to Antarctica on November 24. Read more about it on page 4. PHOTO: LULAMA ZENZILE
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