The construction of a traffic circle next to JJ Motors and the Sasol garage at Thohoyandou has left motorists confused.

Construction of the traffic circle, which is part of the multimillion rand neighbourhood project started at the beginning of the month, is envisaged to be completed at the end of next month.

On the first day of construction, a kilometre-long line of traffic could be seen moving at a snail´s pace. Many motorists were not aware of what was happening and several reached their homes very late in the evening.

Mirror visited the site where Thulamela community services manager Mr Mbulungeni Madi, site agent Mr Martin Nieuwoudt and site engineers were planning the smooth flow of traffic. Madi explained that development in Thohoyandou town meant that more and more vehicles were using the roads.

Within minutes, a plan was hatched and traffic was back to normal and there was no longer a congestion of traffic. “We have to move with the times. We had to find ways of dealing with such a large number of vehicles and a traffic circle became one of the best options,” he said.

He said traffic circles had positive results as they beautified towns and they were environmentally friendly as cars did not stop and emit gases, unlike at stop signs. He said the circle would also help in saving energy and that the carbon footprint would decrease. “Thohoyandou has been declared an eco-town and this augurs well as the traffic circle will work against the effects of climate chang. It is a plus for our municipality," he added.

He said when completed, there would a smooth flow of traffic and this will meant that more and more road users could use the road without having to worry about accidents. “There are fewer accidents at traffic circles and we are very hopeful that, with this being the second one in Thohoyandou, motorists will not have any difficulty. Moreover, after the completion we will have an awareness campaign and have our officers on standby to assist in the flow of traffic,” he said.

Madi also proudly announced the commencement of a multi-million-rand taxi rank next to Eskom´s offices in Thohoyandou. The taxi rank is part of the intermodal facility that will cover the towns of Thulamela, Malamulele, Sibasa and Thohoyandou.

“There is a lot of development taking place in our municipality. We just had a sod-turning ceremony for a major development at Sibasa. Very soon, we will be moving over to Malamulele, where massive development is also to take place. We are rejuvenating our towns and you have to bear with us while we are busy with construction,” he said.

He mentioned that, as an intervention during the construction period, they were also erecting drop-off points for passengers along the main streets of Thohoyandou. He urged motorists to avoid the construction area at all costs and to be patient until the circle was finished.

Mr Martin Nieuwoudt said they would meet the deadline and that motorists would enjoy their festivities without having to bother about traffic congestion.