A new interim truck staging area (ITSA) at the Cape Town port, rolled out in two phases, is now fully operational, says the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA).
The facility, located alongside Duncan road, aims to serve as an overflow waiting area in instances where the operational terminals have reached full capacity and can no longer allow trucks to enter.
Phase 1, which was rolled out in July last year, saw a “significant improvement” in heavy-vehicle traffic flow to Cape Town Multipurpose Terminal (CTMPT) Precinct, says the TNPA.
Phase 1 has the capacity to stage 28 trucks and has seen the diversion of idle trucks off Duncan road, “thus increasing road safety and allowing for all port users to enjoy free traffic flow”, notes ITSA project manager Roxanne Smith.
Phase 2 was completed and rolled out in December.
It has been designed to stage 37 trucks to alleviate heavy-vehicle traffic congestion to the roads leading to the Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT).
The completion of Phase 2 resulted in the capacity to stage 65 trucks in the ITSA.
The ITSA facility addresses the immediate mitigation of truck congestion, while the TNPA Port of Cape Town pursues the possibility of a permanent truck staging facility in the Port Industrial Park.
The permanent truck staging facility, which forms part of the CTCT Phase 2B project, is scheduled for completion in the 2024/25 financial year.
This project aims is to “substantially improve the flow of trucks in and out of the port and address the increase in traffic by heavy vehicles in recent years”.