Driver remains unconscious
THE CRASH on the N1 that brought Cape Town to a standstill last week is estimated to have cost commuters as much as R36 million as they were forced to wait in gridlocked traffic – missing flights, meetings and appointments.
During a debriefing on the incident at the Traffic Management Centre in Goodwood yesterday, incident co-ordinator Dale Hillebrand reconstructed the minutes after a 12- ton barge fell off a truck and crushed a bakkie on Table Bay Boulevard last Tuesday.
The driver of the bakkie, Scott Gonzalez, 51, is still unconscious in Groote Schuur Hospital.
A hospital spokesman said his condition was stable.
Hillebrand said the heavy load slid off the back of the truck at 2.28pm after clipping a section of the Lower Church Street bridge over the N1.
The freeway’s five outbound lanes were quickly closed off and authorities began diverting rush-hour traffic exiting the CBD.
As rescue personnel tried to free Gonzalez from his vehicle, commuters found themselves stuck in standstill traffic in some cases for hours as they sought alternative routes out of the city.
The N1 was closed for three hours.
Hillebrand insisted authorities had dealt with the situation quickly and efficiently, but he did not downplay the impact the crash had on Cape Town’s transport infrastructure.
“As a rule of thumb, we can work out that the accident cost commuters between R10m to R1m an hour.”
He said the crash had caused “chaos” in the city, with normal traffic flow resuming only four hours later.
Hillebrand said all five lanes were closed to create space for the cranes to lift the barge from the bakkie.
The city’s mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith, said the crash and clearing of the wreckage will cost the council R30 000.
“In total, the direct charges – for the damage to bridge and calling out EMS personnel – will amount to R100 000.”
Smith said the truck company, Crescendo Trucking, of Saldanha, would have to foot the bill because the driver had been travelling in contravention of his permit.
“It was an inexperienced driver, who did not know what he was doing. He should not have been on that route.”
In the end, it was just a 10cm difference that plunged the city into chaos, as the height of the truck’s load exceeded that of the bridge.
But despite widespread criticism of how the city handled the crash, Smith said he was happy with how emergency services and authorities had reacted.
“I don’t think it could have been any quicker,” he said.
However, the city was looking at a range of possible improvements in its handling of big collisions.
These would include the provision of more traffic cones for officials, public education on alternate routes, using variable message signs to give better guidance on alternative routes and accidents; and the acquisition of an additional heavy tow-truck.
“I have told all those involved in the operation give it a rating out of 10. I would suggest an eight or a nine,” said Smith.
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