Thabazimbi/Northam, Limpopo – Local communities have made an urgent plea to the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to resolve long-standing implementation failures that have left the vital R510 route between Thabazimbi, Amandelbult and Northam incomplete, hazardous, and increasingly deadly.
The abandoned road construction has created a nightmare for motorists. This has resulted in escalating traffic volumes, severe injuries and a rising death toll. Locals describe the R510 as “one of the most dangerous roads in South Africa”.
Series of fatal accidents on route
On August 31 2025, two more people were killed in a head-on collision. This while the Platinum Bosvelder newspaper reported another fatal crash on October 31 2025. These were just some of the items in the mounting list of tragedies.
Emergency services recorded 38 separate accidents between July 1 and August 31 2025 alone on this single stretch of road.
Pierre Loots, director of Thaba Fire and Rescue, has repeatedly emphasised that the R510 road “urgently needs attention”.
When construction began in July 2022 to widen lanes and reduce high-risk overtaking. Residents welcomed the initiative as long overdue. But the project was abruptly abandoned in September 2024. And this left behind a hazardous, incomplete construction site now described as a “gauntlet of danger”.
Speed humps cause congestion
The R510 is a strategic economic artery. It carries traffic to major mining operations and serves as a key route to the Lephalale Power Station. Heavy trucks and massive traffic volumes during mining shift changes have overwhelmed the failing road capacity. And this creates daily chaos and fear among road users.
The recent installation of speed humps in September 2025 has worsened congestion. It was intended as an interim safety measure, and it highlighted the urgency for proper roadworks to resume. Local businesses are also feeling the strain. And this prompted distress calls from the Thabazimbi Municipality and various community leaders.
“It is now not only a matter of economics. It is an urgent matter of life and death that the road project should be completed,” said local businessman Rendani Radzilani.
“With inadequate warning signage and road markings, the speed humps are not a solution. We cannot afford any more preventable injuries and deaths.”
Mayor, stakeholders join calls to Sanral
Thabazimbi Local Municipality Mayor Maguzumela Pilane told Sunday World that the municipality engaged the Limpopo Department of Roads and Community Safety, as well as the Office of the Premier, after the contractor abandoned the site.
“The contractor left the project uncompleted in September. And we asked for intervention from higher provincial authorities because of the high accident and death rates on this road,” Pilane said.
“Their interim response was to install speed humps. These unfortunately are now causing major traffic congestion. Especially considering that Thabazimbi and Northam are mining areas.”
Pilane said the incomplete road is inflicting huge economic strain on the municipality and the region.
Public safety, economic movement
“R510 is an economic road as it connects three mining towns. These are Rustenburg, Thabazimbi and Lephalale, where Medupi Power Station is based. The road also links South Africa and Botswana via the Groblers Bridge border,” he explained.
Residents, businesses, and the municipality stand united in their call for Sanral to urgently complete the R510 upgrade. Their message is clear: public safety must come first.
The people of Thabazimbi, Northam and surrounding mining communities say they cannot afford further delays. These will mean more preventable deaths.
It is time for Sanral to bring construction crews back on site before more lives are lost.
