Mayor releases additional millions to fight potholes

29 March 2017

 

Johannesburg Executive Mayor Cllr Herman Mashaba has declared war on potholes.

 

On Tuesday March 28, Mashaba again put the fight against potholes on top of the agenda when he announced that, as part of the mayoral intervention, the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) would spend R88-million from its 2016-2017 adjustment budget allocation to fight the scourge that has put the safety of many motorists at risk.

Resplendent in a brightly coloured worksuit and protective gear, Mayor Mashaba rolled up his sleeves and dirtied his hands as he joined groups of Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) workers in repairing and sealing potholes in the streets of Ivory Park and Midrand in Region A.

Of the R88-million set aside to deal with pothole repairs during the remainder of the 2016-2017 financial year, R60-million will be spent on materials and equipment; while the rest will be used to start addressing the 40% staff capacity shortages in the roads maintenance teams.

Mayor Mashaba said pothole repairs were a short-term solution to ensure the safety of the motorists and maintained that resurfacing remained the long-term response to the challenge. He decried the state of the City’s roads, revealing that the backlog for roads resurfacing stood at R3.5-billion, while that for roads construction was in the region of R2.3-billion.

He said most of the roads built by the previous administration were “half done” as they were not properly prepared and the thickness of the tar was not of the required standard. “The lack of storm water drainage in some parts of the city remains a challenge and is a contributing factor to the damage on our roads,” said Mayor Mashaba.

The 2017 citywide Visual Condition Index shows that 14% of the roads in Johannesburg are in a poor condition and a further 15% in a very poor condition. Through JRA’s integrated citizen communication channels, more than 37 450 potholes were reported between April 2015 and February 2017. Of these, 32 740 were fixed.

Mayor Mashaba said the time taken to repair potholes remained a challenge but that JRA was working on improving its turnaround time for general repairs.

Member of the Mayoral Committee for Transport Cllr Nonhlanhla Makhuba said the fixing of potholes and resurfacing of roads would contribute to safer roads and job creation. “While the current budget allocation for resurfacing and reconstruction does not fully address these backlogs, it is the intention of the City to gradually increase the budgets over time,” she said.

Local resident Jabulani Radebe said potholes would not have been a problem had a proper job been done the first time. “You can see that this was a rush-rush job. Those who were awarded the tenders at the time failed us as a community. This road you see today is less than 15 years old but it is already littered with potholes. Let’s hope that new project by Mayor Mashaba will improve the state of our roads,” he said.