In July 2026, trucks queue along Solomon Mahlangu Drive, heading to the Port of Durban. To address the issue related to freight transport, the eThekwini municipality has developed an Integrated Freight Logistics Strategy (IFLS).
Residents of the Bluff area in Durban may feel relief after the IFLS comes into effect in the eThekwini municipality. During a council meeting in July, Ward Councillor Zoe Solomon stated that this strategy is capable of reducing truck congestion in the Bluff, Bayhead, and Southern Durban areas.
The IFLS and its 2026 action plan were prepared by the eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA) in collaboration with key strategic programs planned for implementation. ETA updated the 2013 strategy to complement the Municipal Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plan (CITP), providing a coordinated strategic framework for logistics and freight planning.
The review of the IFLS was conducted through five main work streams: assessing the current freight and logistics environment, including status quo analysis and future demand forecasts; reviewing and developing the IFLS structure to align with transport, economic, and spatial planning priorities; reviewing IFLS project priorities and developing an implementation plan for phased execution of strategic measures; creating implementation mechanisms and packaging projects to facilitate the launch and funding of priority tasks; and comprehensive stakeholder engagement to ensure cooperation with key partners, including government bodies, industry participants, and freight operators.
In its report to the council, ETA reported that the IFLS will improve cargo movement management through measures such as truck route planning, creation of truck waiting bays, road hierarchy management, freight infrastructure planning, and other cargo transport interventions.
Furthermore, the IFLS aims to enhance the efficiency and safety of freight transport, support economic growth and trade, reduce congestion and infrastructure deterioration, and improve cooperation with strategic partners, including Transnet.
The final part of the IFLS study details the concept of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and how it was applied to determine the prioritization of proposed measures. The municipality identified four implementable projects: a truck waiting bay, criteria for evaluating the Cato Ridge intermodal hub, development of a freight route hierarchy for the eThekwini area, and the development of a freight route policy and by-law.
The municipality noted in its report that 'overall, the revised strategy recognizes that one of the key challenges for the eThekwini municipality is maintaining effective mobility and accessibility for business and the Port of Durban while managing growing demands on the City's transport infrastructure.'
Councillor Solomon emphasized that this is not just a transport issue but also a matter of the people living in Bluff, Clairwood, Umbhilo, and surrounding areas, including businesses and clients in the Jacobs industrial zone. She added that the strategy must work in conjunction with the Port of Durban Environmental Impact Assessment (SEA), which is currently underway.
Solomon explained: 'Although the SEA is a process led by Transnet, not the municipality, they are linked. The SEA examines the future expansion of the port and its impact on surrounding communities, while the strategy focuses on how goods move through our city. We cannot plan one without considering the other.'
She added that for residents of Bluff, Umbhilo, Clairwood, and surrounding areas, the problem stems from decades of poor planning, warehousing in Clairwood, and container terminals along the Solomon Mahlangu Drive corridor, which concentrated freight traffic around the community.
'Thousands of heavy trucks travel along Solomon Mahlangu Drive every day—the only practical access route for Bluff. When one truck breaks down or an accident occurs, the entire suburb suffers. Residents are late for work, children arrive late to school, miss medical appointments, and emergency services struggle to reach those in need,' stated Solomon.
She also noted that the problem is not limited to this. Heavy trucks use Bluff Road and other residential streets to access the port, forcing families, schoolchildren, pedestrians, and motorists to share neighboring streets with large freight vehicles that have no local destination.
Solomon cited examples of recent truck incidents: in April 2025, a truck carrying 34 tons of cornmeal overturned on Bluff Road near Durban Academy School; in March 2025, a container fell from a truck on Solomon Mahlangu Drive, causing traffic stoppage; in January 2026, a road traffic accident on M7 claimed two lives and injured two; and in February 2026, two trucks collided at the M7/N2 intersection, causing serious delays and diesel fuel spillage.
Solomon believes that the SEA gives residents the opportunity to influence how the future development of the port will consider road safety, congestion, air quality, noise, and community well-being.
'Bluff has borne the burden of port-related freight for decades. We support a thriving port because it is vital to our economy. But economic growth should never come at the expense of the safety, health, and quality of life of the communities living next to it. Our residents should not continue to pay the price for planning decisions made decades ago. This strategy gives us the opportunity to start correcting this imbalance,' she concluded.
