THE ROAD NETWORK ZULULAND

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THE ROAD NETWORK ZULULAND
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• Road that Arc through Zululand
• The port of Richards Bay is South Africas
  premier bulk cargo
• port and a vitally important national asset. It
  is the leading port in terms of volumes of cargo
  handled and the largest in the country in terms
  of land area. It also has a reputation for being
  the worlds best-equipped port for handling bulk
  commodities such as liquids, coal, anthracite,
  timber chippings and granite.
• Richards Bay is the closest port to Gauteng, the
  industrial heartland of the country, so the road
  linkages are extremely important for promoting
  economic development and the future expansion of
  the countrys economy.
• The N2 is a major National route that arcs
  through Zululand, linking Mpumalanga with the KZN
  coast, but the regional roads R33, R34, R66 and
  R69 that criss -cross most of the areas are well
  used by Freight Transport.

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• Zululand is predominantly a rural district,
  located in the north of KwaZulu-Natal.
• Although it is relatively remote from the
  provinces major development centres
  (Durban,Richards Bay / Empangeni and
  Pietermaritzburg) and the main growth corridors
  (along theN3 and N2 routes), it does have a
  secondary corridor of national significance.
• The coal line corridor, which runs from Richards
  Bay, through Ulundi, Vryheid and Paulpietersburg
  and on to the mining areas of Mpumalanga, is an
  important route in the national rail and road
  network.
• Zululands main internal road network is
  dominated by three routes which form a triangle
  linking Vryheid, Ulundi and Pongola the coal
  line corridor (R 34 and R 33), the road from
  Vryheid through Louwsberg to Magudu (R 69), and
  from Ulundi to Pongola (R 66) on the N2.

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OVERVIEW

• analyses of overloading data are done using the
  CSIR Vehicle Overloading Management System (VOMS)
  both on a monthly and an annual basis. The system
  has been utilised in the province since 1988 and
  has been updated on an ongoing basis to meet the
  growing needs of the Department.

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Overview Cont. Top ten Commodities weighed
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Overview cont.

• General Weighing Statistics
• During 2008, 200 030 vehicles were weighed at the
  KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport
  weighbridges of which 36 177 (18.1 ) were
  overloaded and 9 901 (5 ) charged.
• Of the 200 030 vehicles weighed, 138 226 (69 )
  were weighed on the N3 corridor. Of these, 23
  781(17 ) were overloaded and 5 652 (4 )
  charged. In comparison, in the remainder of the
  province (primarily the N2 north corridor) 18.9
  of the vehicles weighed were overloaded and 4.4
  were charged.

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Escalation of Overloaded Vehicles1998 to 2008
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OVERVIEW CONT.

• The average overload per overloaded vehicle for
  2008 at Empangeni and Vryheid are significantly
  higher than that of the other 13 weighbridges.
  This can be attributed to a combination of the
  small sample size, due to the low number of
  vehicles weighed at these two sites and the
  relatively high degree of overloading in the
  area, suggesting that the level of enforcement
  should
• be increased. During 2007, the average
  overloads at Empangeni and Vryheid were also
• significantly higher than those of the other
  weighbridges.

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Regional Weighbridge Stats
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Top Ten Offenders -2008
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Weighbridges

• We have 15 operational weighbridges
• Calibrated in May and November every year
• The calibrations are carried out by the scale
  companies whom are accredited by the SABS
• Each deck is calibrated to a max of 40 tons
• Quarterly maintenance is carried out on all
  weighbridges
• Ad-hoc repairs carried out immediately

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Maximum and Axle Unit Overloads
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WHAT OVERLOADING CAN CAUSE
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2009 Abnormal Load Statistics

• The number of exemption permits issued on the N2
  to Pongola or Golela Border or return is 64
• The number of permits issued on the N2 to Pongola
  or Golela Border or return requiring police
  escort is 6
• The number of permits issued on the R 34 Richards
  Bay to Nkwalini to Vryheid route is 59
• The number of permits issued on the R 34 Richards
  Bay to Nkwalini to Vryheid route requiring police
  escort is 12

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SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

• Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) used to gather traffic
  information for maintenance and Law Enforcement
• A sensor pan constructed into the road surface
  which resembles a steel pan
• Used as a screening device to determine the
  extent of overloading and also general vehicle
  volumes
• WIM cannot be used for prosecution purposes

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Weigh In -Motion
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SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

• Vehicle Load Monitoring (VLM) mobile weigh mats
  to monitor overloading where there are no
  weighbridges Concrete lay-byes

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Suggested Solutions

• VLM mats are easy to use and can be set up at
  any location.
• Unlike WIM which requires a good road surface
  condition, the VLM can be used on any road
  surface.
• They can be used to target a specific industry or
  for general traffic overloading information

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GINGINDLOVU WEIGHBRIDGE
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FUTURE AND CURRENT PROJECTS

• Weighbridges investigating proposals at
  Mtubatuba and Cato Ridge with SANRAL
• Proposals for weighbridges at Ixopo and Kokstad
  is currently under investigation
• RTMS To involve other industries besides the
  timber and sugar cane industries who are already
  on board. Eg. Cement Mix etc.

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FREIGHT DIR LINK WITH RTI

• The Freight Directorate has very close links with
  RTI concerning overloading control
• All operations at the weighbridges are carried
  out by RTI Staff
• The Freight Directorate arranges the
  calibrations, maintenance and ad-hoc repairs for
  the weighbridges
• Arrange for monthly and annual reports of all the
  weighbridge statistics

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...
Transport of the C3 Splitter Abnormal Load on the
N2 between Richards Bay Secunda   The C3
splitter, purchased by Sasol for their Secunda
plant as part of their Project Turbo, was
transported along the N2 from Richards Bay
Harbour to its destination in Secunda. To move
the load from Richards Bay to Secunda it required
a massive logistical operation. The "splitter"
weighed 480 tonnes and was 64 metres in length.
It was transported on a series of trucks and
support vehicles , for safety reasons, travelled
at only 5 kilometres per hour. This convoy
occupied virtually the entire road as it passes
along the route. The transportation of the C3
splitter is believed to be the largest transport
of equipment ever on South African roads and
possibly in Africa. 
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Suggested Solutions

• VLM mats are easy to use and can be set up at
  any location.
• Unlike WIM which requires a good road surface
  condition, the VLM can be used on any road
  surface.
• They can be used to target a specific industry or
  for general traffic overloading information

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• THE END
• J.M.SCHNELL
• MANAGER ROAD TRAFFIC INSPECTORATE
• RTI HEAD OFFICE