City upgrades roads in Diepsloot

24 June 2015

 

Motorists in Diepsloot in Johannesburg’s Region A will soon be cruising through the township without having to worry about bumpy and uneven roads as the first phase of the Diepsloot Gravel Roads Upgrade Programme nears completion.

 

Undertaken by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) – the City of Johannesburg’s roads infrastructure and maintenance entity – at a cost of R34 million, the phase is “99% complete”, according to Member of the Mayoral Committee for Transport Councillor Christine Walters.

 

The MMC says this phase is expected to be completed by the end of the 2014-2015 financial year on June 30, paving the way to a smoother, stress-free and enjoyable driving experience for the township’s motorists.

 

The project is complemented by asphalt surfacing, conversion of the area’s open stormwater drains into an underground system and the sprucing up of related infrastructure. Mpho Kau, JRA’s Acting Managing Director, says phase 2 of the project has already taken off and is now 60% complete.

 

Implemented at a cost of R33 million, this phase is expected to be completed by the end of December this year. This will bring the total cost of the two projects to R67 million. Kau says phase 3, which is expected to consolidate work done in the first two phases, is expected to start soon.

 

“We are already in the process of procuring a professional service provider to tackle this leg of the programme. We will soon also announce the appointment of a consultant to carry out the relevant investigations and design work needed to kick-start the phase,” Kau says.

 

Situated in northern Johannesburg, the densely populated township of Diepsloot is sometimes jokingly referred to as a “community under construction” due to the number of infrastructure projects being undertaken in the area by both the City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Provincial Government to improve the residents’ quality of life.

 

The City’s Gravel Roads Upgrade Programme has been going full steam since its launch in 2001, when it first targeted the tarring of Soweto streets. Following its success in Soweto, it was expanded to prioritised townships of Diepsloot, Braamfischerville, Doornkop, Ivory Park and Orange Farm.