Motorists in the Johannesburg CBD are advised of street closures and traffic diversions following an explosion incident on Lilian Ngoyi (Bree) Street. The affected area includes several streets around Lilian Ngoyi Street, Pixley Ka Seme (Sauer), and Von Wielligh Street.
Expect closures on all streets crossing Lilian Ngoyi Street between Rahima Moosa and Plein Street, including Simmonds Street, Harrison Street, Loveday Street, Rissik Street, Joubert Street, Eloff Street, and Von Brandis Street.
This follows an explosion incident that occurred on Wednesday afternoon, 19 July, rendering Lilian Ngoyi Street inaccessible to vehicular traffic.
Xolani Fihla, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) spokesperson, says law enforcement officials have been deployed to cordon off the scene, ensuring the safety of all and diverting traffic on the affected routes.
To manage traffic flow, a contraflow traffic management system will operate on Rahima Moosa Street between 6am and 2pm. Vehicles coming from Pixely Ka Seme Street will turn right onto Rahima Moosa Street, heading East towards Von Weilligh Street for vehicles going to the MTN Taxi Rank.
From 2pm, traffic will convert from East to West on Rahima Moosa Street to facilitate the exit of vehicles from the MTN Rank in the CBD.
“The road closures will remain in place while specialists assess the extent of the damage and rehabilitate the roadway,” Fihla adds.
Motorists are urged to exercise patience and familiarise themselves with the traffic management plan during the road closures. Alternative routes include Rahima Moosa Street, Plein Street, Pritchard Street, Helen Joseph Street, Albertina Sisulu Road, and Commissioner Street.
Meanwhile, various City Power services within the Johannesburg CBD have been affected by the explosion. Currently, three substations, namely Bree, Braamfontein, and Johnware, are offline until the Joint Command Team comprising the City’s Emergency Management Services, Disaster Management, and other municipal and Provincial units gives the go-ahead.
“Preliminary assessments indicate that the three substations were not immediately affected after the explosion at around 5:30pm, as power in some areas was still on. However, the substations were load shed from 6pm until 8pm, and our teams decided not to switch them on, fearing that they might ignite due to reports of a suspected gas leak in the vicinity,” Isaac Mangena, City Power spokesperson, explains.
Concerning the Bree substation, which is a few metres away from the heavily impacted area, there are suspicions that its structural integrity may have been affected.
Mangena says City Power engineers and technicians are on-site conducting assessments and tests on the network to determine the extent of the impact on the electricity infrastructure.
“Unfortunately, one City Power employee was injured during the explosion while on her way to work and is currently hospitalised. Our teams will not respond to outage calls in the CBD until the area is declared safe for access and work.”
He says customers will receive updates on developments in electricity supply from the entity. “The City’s leadership will provide regular updates on all the impacted services, including electricity.”
20/07/2023