RESIDENTS of Vausedale Road have questioned when the old asbestos water pipes will be replaced on their road.
This comes after several more bursts which, in some cases, have left large sinkholes or potholes on the residential road. This has also impacted motorists and pedestrians as, oftentimes, an entire section of a lane is affected.

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In August last year, Queensburgh News met with residents who said the burst pipes were a result of ageing infrastructure. They also questioned the turnaround times to reinstate the damaged roads.

While the eThekwini Municipality has now reinstated some of the damaged sections of the road by resurfacing them, the question remains: When will the pipes be replaced?

Anesh Ganapathie said he has sent numerous emails to the eThekwini Municipality to take urgent action with little or no response.
He added that sections of the road still need to be repaired, and it is a nightmare driving on the residential road, particularly at night.
“We had gone several months without any burst, and then, within a few weeks, we had three major bursts which impact the surface of the road. As a result, Vausedale Road is extremely uneven, and at night, this stretch is dangerous due to poor visibility. The City has resurfaced some affected sections of the road, but that took months for them to do so. The latest bursts, especially the one farther down towards Main Road, are especially hazardous.

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“The burst has left a rather big crater and taken up an entire lane, making it impossible for two vehicles to pass each other. Residents or motorists have to drive into oncoming traffic to avoid the hole. I know I avoid driving here, but the problem gets worse during peak hours. There has been talk of a pipe-replacement project, but nothing has materialised,” he said.

In its last correspondence with the newspaper in May this year, spokesperson for the eThekwini Municipality Gugu Sisilana confirmed that Vausedale Road was on a pipe-replacement programme.

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She said that old infrastructure, vandalism and earth movement, due to construction adjacent to the water mains, were the frequent causes of burst pipes.

“The City’s turnaround time to fix bursts and leaks is 24 hours, although, this may sometimes be delayed by a number of reasons, such as in the case of the source of a leak taking time to be detected. The road has been incorporated into the adhoc main replacement programme for the old pipes to be replaced,” she said.

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