In July, the City of Cape Town declared an inter-governmental dispute with Sanral and more recently launched an application in the Cape High Court for an interdict to stop the project, which included two new tunnels. "Our application to the High Court is premised on our view that the process followed by Sanral, which eventually led to the N1 and N2 being declared toll roads, was fundamentally flawed and illegal," said Brett Herron, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Roads and Stormwater. He added that the city welcomes the decision by the National Department of Transport to halt the projects until further investigation.
Herron said the city has been concerned about the impact the projects, which have not been fully investigated, would have on the economy and residents. "The imposition of the toll roads would amount to unfair discrimination against poor and largely black communities who would be disproportionately affected," he said. Sanral planned to have the N1 and the N2 tolled from the R300, the N1 stretch would end just after Worcester, the N2 toll road at Bot River. The Huguenot Tunnel would be taken into the tolling plan. "We welcome the department's intervention,'' Herron concluded.
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