Heavy rain flooded the Stoffberg subway on the afternoon of September 4, less than two months after it was rehabilitated to fix repeated flooding, road damage, and unsafe driving conditions.

“The excitement and relief we felt earlier this year as residents of Brakpan when we were assured that the long-standing flooding problems at the Stoffberg subway would finally be resolved have now been completely replaced by disappointment and frustration,” said Ward 97 Clr Brandon Pretorius.

“We were given assurances by the roads department that the matter would be properly addressed and resolved.

“The subway was completely resurfaced and the drainage system was said to be cleared, and we were led to believe that this would bring an end to the ongoing flooding and deterioration that residents have endured for far too long.

“The first significant heavy rains have exposed what appears to be substandard workmanship with the subway flooding again. This is simply unacceptable.

“Brakpan residents cannot continue to be subjected to the same problem after money has been spent on work that was supposed to resolve it.

“It raises serious questions about the quality of the work performed, the oversight of the contractor, and whether the city received value for money.”

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Pretorius told the Brakpan Herald he has escalated the matter to the city manager and requested his intervention.

“We need accountability, not another promise that the problem will be fixed. The city must establish what went wrong and who was responsible for signing off on the work and whether the contractor complied with the required standards.

“I have also called for the contractor responsible to be investigated and should the appropriate processes confirm that the contractor failed to meet the required standards for the contractor to be blacklisted from undertaking work for the city in future.

“Residents deserve better. They should not have to watch their money being spent on infrastructure that fails when it is actually needed,” Pretorius continued.

“The Stoffberg subway has become a symbol of a much bigger problem. Residents are repeatedly promised solutions only to be left dealing with the same failures.

“This time there must be consequences and accountability. We cannot allow the disappointment of residents to once again be swept aside with another temporary fix. The city must get this right.

Freedom Front Plus PR Clr Riaan van Zyl stated the flooded subway demonstrates that the stormwater system is inadequate and that simply repairing the road surface each time is futile.

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“As early as April, municipal officials identified a deteriorated stormwater channel and clogged pressure-relief holes as the causes of the frequent flooding,” he said.

“The repair plan announced after previous storm damage included cleaning, restoring the drainage system, pressure relief, and road repairs.

“Yet, the latest flooding shows that the promised outcome was not achieved. During an oversight visit on August 18, the FF Plus had already observed new potholes and cracks in the road surface and warned that water would rapidly erode these weak points.”

According to van Zyl, a comprehensive written inquiry regarding this matter, addressed to the responsible mayoral committee member and the head of the department, yielded no response.

“Following the latest flooding, the matter has now been taken up directly with the executive mayor and the city manager,” he said.

“The FF Plus demands an independent engineering investigation into the stormwater channel, drainage lines, pressure-relief mechanisms, and road structure.

“The underpass is a major route connecting communities, and every unnecessary closure seriously disadvantages residents, businesses, and emergency services.”

Comment is awaited from the city.