Even though they are supposed to make the road safer, residents complain that contractors working on the R500 near Fochville are causing many problems.

The Herald recently reported that motorists complained that the work of contractors repairing the section of the R500 between Fochville and the R54 is not up to standard. Instead of evening out the road when they fill potholes, their road repairs make the road dangerously bumpy in places.

This week, another resident of the area, James Eayrs of Waenhuis Country Guesthouse, pointed out how the same contractors have been burying the tar they remove during their pothole repairs on the shoulders of the road. They apparently scrape holes on the side of the road to bury the old tar, and then scrape some more gravel over it again. This is not only bad for the environment, but also makes the shoulders of the road extremely uneven and dangerous.

“If someone should pull to the side of the road to avoid an accident in one of these places, they will certainly roll their vehicle,” Eayrs complain.

On the same day that the Herald visited the problematic roadworks, which make the shoulders very unsafe, other contractors were busy cutting the grass on the sides of the road to make it safer.
Eayrs also pointed out that new potholes were developing faster in the patches of new tar laid by the contractors than on the surrounding road surface, which was apparently last tarred about 40 years ago.

According to Eayrs, the problems are so bad that he has considered legal action. Other road users confirmed that the contractors use large bags or rags to level the new tarred surfaces instead of using a roller.

The Herald took the issues to the national road agency, SANRAL. Their media relations manager, Lwando Mahlasela, promised to investigate.