Recovery of the trucks blockading the N3 Toll Route has commenced following several arrests on the scene by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police Service this afternoon.

However, the N3 Toll Route at Van Reenen and the northbound lanes at Tugela Plaza will remain closed until the scene has been cleared and the area declared safe for passage.

Protestors have removed the keys from the majority of vehicles blockading the road. Recovery teams are in the process of towing these trucks out of the roadway, while spare keys for some of the trucks have been delivered to law enforcement officers in order to remove them.

Road users are warned to continue to expect traffic disruptions along the route.

“The recovery process will take some time, whereafter the extensive backlog of traffic still has to be cleared,” explains N3 Toll Concession’s operations manager, Thania Dhoogra.

“We are expecting the current traffic congestion on the N3 Toll Route to last well into the night. Traffic authorities are reporting that many roads in the region are also gridlocked as a result of today’s total closure of the N3 Toll Route by the truckers. Road users are advised to remain extra vigilant, and to either delay their trips, or to prepare for slow moving traffic and delays. They are also reminded of the national curfew which starts at midnight tonight until 04h00 tomorrow morning,” ends Ms Thania Dhoogra.

Regular traffic updates are available from N3TC on Twitter: @N3Route or contact the 24-hour N3 Helpline on 0800 63 43 57 for information, to report problems or to obtain emergency assistance. N3 Toll Concession manages the N3 Toll Route between Cedara in KwaZulu-Natal and Heidelberg in Gauteng.

ENDS.