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Road closure sign.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says the N-1 highway near Worcester in the Boland has been closed until further notice due to the impact of the inclement weather conditions.
Winde has urged motorists to find alternative routes because the closure will impact access to and from Cape Town.
He says various passes along the escarpment are also closed.
Winde says the alternative routes are Victoria West, diverted to R63 to R67, Loxton-Fraserburg-Williston-Calvinia-Nieuwoudtville-Vanrhynsdorp to N7.
Western Cape – N1 Route: ROAD CLOSED
Paarl / Worcester via Huguenot tunnel
multiple alternative routes also closed
Check Before Travel #CapeStorm @TrafficSA pic.twitter.com/DYB7yiziTZ— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) May 12, 2026
The second option is to use the road just before Beaufort West, divert via the R381 to Loxton-Fraserburg-Williston-Calvinia-Nieuwoudtville-Vanrhynsdorp to N7.
He says motorists can go via Leeu Gamka to divert to R353 to Loxton-Fraserburg-Williston-Calvinia-Nieuwoudtville-Vanrhynsdorp to N7, or divert to R318 to Montagu-Ashton.
The R318 has no shoulders. It is a normal class 4 road – tarred – but a narrow road.
The City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Centre says mop-up operations are continuing despite the widespread disruptive rainfall and damaging winds.
Disaster Risk Management spokesperson, Charlotte Powell, says assessments of the damage caused by the inclement weather in informal settlements are underway.
Powell says the impact of the gale-force winds and the heavy downpours has been extensive.
“Teams are attending to service faults; however, some reinstatements are being delayed as it is not safe for staff to operate in the very windy conditions. Our assessments in informal settlements, too, are continuing – where assessments have been completed, we have activated our NGO partners to provide immediate soft relief. The impacts from the frontal systems have been extensive, and teams are working as quickly as possible to attend to them.”
Video | Second cold front lands in the Western Cape:
