Eskom’s R21 road closure postponed

The temporary R21 road closure for the replacement of Eskom’s Apollo-Croydon transmission line has been postponed.

The closure was meant to take place between 5am and 6pm on Sunday.

“Eskom would like to inform electricity customers, road users and all stakeholders that the temporary road closures at the Flying Saucer interchange and Olifantsfontein Drive on the R21 freeway that had been scheduled for Sunday, 13 August 2017, have been postponed until further notice,” said the power utility on Thursday.

The postponement came after another meeting on Thursday between Eskom and the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL). The meeting was aimed at reassessing the appropriate contingencies, risks and concerns arising from the temporary road closures.

“Accordingly, Eskom will inform all customers, road users and stakeholders of a new date once it has been confirmed.”

The temporary road closure was aimed at the stringing of conductors over the R21 after approval from SANRAL to close the freeway.

The Apollo-Croydon 275 kV transmission line tripped in the early hours of Friday, 19 May after a truck hit one of the towers, causing the line conductor to come down between Nellmapius and Olifantsfontein Drive on the R21 highway between Johannesburg and Pretoria.

The Apollo-Croydon line was planned to be commissioned on 16 August 2017 after construction work on the line began on 9 June 2017 after a suitable contractor was identified.

The Apollo-Croydon 275 kV supplies the Croydon substation with Croydon-Jupiter 275 kV as a back-up. The substation was rendered unstable with Apollo-Croydon line out. – SAnews.gov.za