One pothole at a time
ROODEPOORT - JRA takes first step to repair potholes in Johannesburg
A number of 707 potholes have been repaired with 33 tons of asphalt by 106 workers with 17 Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) trucks on 15 and 16 March in Roodepoort.
These colossal figures were achieved with the aim of repairing most of the biggest potholes in the area.
Ward 89 councillor Ingrid Reinten pointed out that Christiaan de Wet Road’s potholes were fixed but that the smaller connecting routes in her area have not been attended to yet.
“I have logged the issues with the entity but as I understood they only fixed the busy main routes in the various areas in Roodepoort,” Reinten said.
Ward 126 councillor Mike Tonkin said that his area was one of the worst affected by potholes. He expressed his gratitude to the entity for its hard work but said that there is still a lot of work left before the pothole issues can be considered resolved.
“The problem now is that these fixed potholes wash away after the first rains arrive.”
JRA spokesperson Bertha Peters-Scheepers agreed.
“Wet weather conditions are unfortunately bad for roads in general and road repairs in particular. The rain affects the road as flowing water penetrates the surface of the road through cracks or voids into the gravel base resulting to the base layer losing its cohesion and disintegrating, causing a pothole. The material used on the weekend is a permanently fix and should have a long-lasting effect.”
Resident Stuart Lowe did not agree with Peters-Scheepers. He suggested that the agency spend more time on fixing the potholes and that it would require less manpower if this were done on a regular basis.
“I understand that potholes appear because of the weather, but I feel that the entity does not repair these potholes properly. This is why they appear again the next rainy season.”
Peters-Scheepers confirmed that a meeting had taken place on 19 March, where the entity’s managing director Skhumbuzo Macozoma discussed the city’s plans to repair and upgrade flood damage to road infrastructure in the greater Joburg area.
“Now the hard work starts. We have to plan what happens next and all of the staff at JRA will be trained to fix potholes quicker and on a frequent basis.”
Details: Johannesburg Roads Agency 011 298 5023.
