Local communities are issuing an urgent plea to the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) to immediately resolve their implementation challenges, which have left the vital R510 road that connects Thabazimbi, Amandelbult and Northam, and some of the largest mines in the area, incomplete, dangerous, and claiming lives.
The unfinished construction on the R510 is causing catastrophic consequences, including high traffic volumes, injury, and death to road users. The road, described by locals as one of the most dangerous in South Africa, claimed two lives in a fatal head-on collision on August 31, 2025. In a devastating two-month period alone (July 1 to August 31, 2025), emergency services recorded 38 separate accidents on this stretch. Pierre Loots, director of Thaba Fire and Rescue, stressed that the road “urgently needs attention”.
The roadworks project, which aimed to expand lanes and mitigate overtaking dangers, was welcomed by residents when it began in July 2022. But it was abandoned in September 2024, and is now a gauntlet of danger.
This infrastructure failure is crippling a region that is rich in intensive mining activity. The road is also a key route for traffic to the Lephalale Power Station. Heavy vehicles and high volumes of traffic during shift changes are compounding the inadequate road capacity, leading to discomfort and danger. The recent (September 2025) installation of speed humps on certain sections of the road has exacerbated conditions and highlighted the need for an urgent completion of the works. Local businesses are also suffering, prompting distress calls even from the Thabazimbi Municipality.
“It is now not only a matter of economics, but it is an urgent matter of life and death that the road project should be completed,” stressed local businessman Rendani Radzilani.
“With inadequate warning signage and road markings, the speed humps are not a solution for the predicament we face daily. We cannot afford to have any more preventable injuries and deaths.”
The community and the Thabazimbi Municipality are united in their call for immediate action. The community calls on SANRAL to place public safety and service delivery first. The people of Thabazimbi and Northam deserve a safe, completed road. It is time to get the construction crews back to work before more lives are lost.
