Traffic officials had their hands full as they controlled heavy traffic flow that picked up on Friday morning until midday at Musina’s Beit Bridge border post in Limpopo.
Vehicles crossing into Zimbabwe at the border post occupied three lanes of the N1 road for about two kilometres before the port of entry due to traffic congestion.
“The number of people in the last 24 hours is just about 22 400 people that has cross the Beit Bridge border post in the last 24 hours and that is until mid-night last night what we have pick up this morning we don’t know whether people were kept somewhere and we have all of a sudden large numbers this morning,” said Neel.
Some of the motorists, passing through into Zimbabwe, expressed their frustration about traffic congestion at the border post.
“The traffic is so bad man… extra bad actually. I don’t know what is happening here, it is terrible actually it is very terrible,” said one frustrated motorist.
“I don’t know if we are going to pass through today or we are going to pass tomorrow we are travelling okay but the traffic is just too bad here at the border is so bad we have been here for almost two hours we last experience this in December 2017 traffic is good the problem is here by the border,” added another motorist.
The Home Affairs department says more than 22 000 people have crossed into Zimbabwe in the last 24 hours.
Home Affairs director for port entry, Stephen Van Neel, says the number of people crossing the border has drastically increased on Friday. This, as some holiday makers are crossing at various ports of entry in the country, for the Easter weekend.
Meanwhile, five people including a pedestrian, were killed in four separate road crashes between Thursday night and Friday in Limpopo. The provincial Transport department says a driver was killed on the Dendron road, outside Polokwane, when his car overturned after he lost control.
A passenger died when a taxi overturned at Vaalfontein in Marble hall. Two people were killed in a head-on collision on Gilead Road near Lephalale.
A pedestrian was also killed after he was knocked down by a vehicle on the R71 road in Mankweng, outside Polokwane. This brings the number of road fatalities in the province to eight in the last 24 hours.
Department spokesperson, Matome Tauyatsoala says traffic is currently flowing smoothly, especially on the N1.
“The traffic flow overnight particularly on the N1 was stable and managed properly by our traffic officials the accident that we had so far is the quantum that was traveling in a high speed and lost control with a trailer one passenger died on the spot the driver of a sedan lost control as well and died on the spot,” said Matome.
Traffic flow was normal at the Beit Bridge border post by noon.
