The MMC for Roads and Transport, Clr Thumbu Mahlangu, together with Bidvest Velocity representatives conducted a road rehabilitation demonstration, recently.
This involved a specialised truck, used by Bidvest Velocity, to fill the potholes on the corner of Driehoek Road and Campbell Street, in Driehoek.
“This is a new programme that we are launching today,” said Mahlangu.
“The intention is to do away with potholes as they have become a serious problem, with 3 000 plus complaints recorded by the department.
“We also just want to show people that we do take pothole complaints seriously and that we are doing something to try to get rid of them.”
Mahlangu also told the GCN that the project is a joint venture.
“We were approached by Bidvest Velocity who showed us that, due to new and advanced technology, they have equipment that can assist with potholes,” he said.
David Madisa, the managing executive at Bidvest Velocity, explained the process of the new initiative.
“All that is needed to fill the pothole is the truck, a driver, an operator and a sweeper,” he said.
“Basically the operator will use a high pressure machine to clean the pothole and the area around it.
“Once the cleaning is done a bitumen emulsion is applied to the hole and surrounding centimetres to aggregate the stones to the street.
“After the emulsion coating, stones are put into the pothole and beyond, to prevent water from penetrating the coating, which might cause erosion and, ultimately, another pothole.
“When that is done, the pothole is filled.
“A pothole that is about 150cm deep will take five minutes to fill and another five to seven minutes to dry.
“Once dry, it will be safe for vehicles to drive over, so traffic will not be heavily affected.
“The great part about this is that all the resources needed are carried in the truck.”
“We do have the capacity to attend to potholes but we just want to speed up the process,” Mahlangu said.
“We also, therefore, appeal to other companies to dig into their Corporate Social Investments (CSI) and join this project, which will operate across Ekurhuleni.”
