One of South Africa’s major national roads, the N3 highway, has fully reopened after a weekend snowstorm that left two people dead and hundreds of motorists stranded overnight near Van Reenen Pass.

Travellers, stuck for hours in their vehicles due to heavy snow, flocked to Montrose Shell Ultra City service station to buy food and supplies.

While traffic is flowing again, motorists were advised to resume travel during daylight hours on Monday (September 23). The snowstorm brought chaos to the N3 toll route, with videos and images on social media showing vehicles immobilised under thick snow.

Authorities confirmed that two people succumbed to hypothermia during the ordeal, Times LIVE reported on September 23.

The N3 Toll Concession (N3TC) has now confirmed that the extensive backlog of traffic between KwaZulu-Natal and Free State has been cleared.

“Following this weekend’s severe snowfalls, which caused major traffic disruptions and had road users stranded for almost two days between Tugela Plaza and Harrismith, N3TC is pleased to inform road users that mobility is fully restored on the N3 toll route,” it said.

N3TC chief operating officer (COO) Thania Dhoogra urged travellers to plan ahead, monitor weather conditions, and prioritise daytime travel. “Conditions on a road can change rapidly, as we have seen over the past few days,” she was quoted as saying.

The N3 highway connects Johannesburg in Gauteng to Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. It serves as a crucial transport route for goods and people between the country’s economic hub of Johannesburg and one of its busiest ports (Durban), facilitating both domestic and international trade.

The highway passes through several important towns and cities, including Heidelberg, Harrismith, and Pietermaritzburg. It traverses varying terrains, including the scenic but steep Van Reenen’s Pass, where weather conditions, especially snow, can disrupt traffic.