No parts to fix Atlas Road, R24 lights

MOTORISTS will have to bear driving in the dark until December this year as the deadline to fix high mast lights was not met because parts are not available for repairs now.

MEC for Roads and Transport, Ismail Vadi, undertook to have the high mast lights along Atlas Road and on the R24 Highway repaired by the end of September but to date road users are still in the dark.

“In a written response from Vadi, assurances were given that this long standing issue would be resolved by the end of September, as spare parts were required to rectify the issue. To date these lights are still not working, and subsequent to the reply, more lights have gone down,” MPL Graham Gersbach, DA spokesman on roads, said.

During a sitting on September 30, Vadi, responding to questions posed by Gersbach regarding the repairs, admitted the lights hadn’t been fixed due to parts not being available.

“I am led to believe that the damages were repaired last year but the cables were stolen again and the substation damaged again. The department will repair the lights as soon as parts for the substation are available. We hope the work will be completed by December, depending again on the availability of parts,” Vadi explained.

The MEC also stated that his department only became aware of this lights issue last year, although DA ward councillor, André du Plessis, had been making efforts to have these lights fixed for years now, through various emails to the relevant officials.

“In 2013 the MEC said repairs were done and vandalism and theft took place immediately afterwards. Residents and the ward councillor have no proof of that short term repair,” Gersbach said.

Although cable theft and vandalism of mini-substations and transformers are major issues in the province, and has been cited as the main problem for the lights not working on these roads, the DA feels the government department is now making this an excuse for not getting the problem solved.

“The truth of the matter is that the department does not have adequate supplies to update and repair the lights on Atlas Road. It is for the same reason why repairs to lights along the R24 have still not been completed.

“The department needs to put preventative measures in place to safeguard its assets and ensure that it delivers on its mandate. It also needs to keep stock of components so that extensive delays do not put motorists at risk.”

According to Vadi, these cases of vandalism at the substations had been reported to the police, but stressed that the public needed to help monitor these crimes by reporting any suspect information.

According to Gersbach, more lights have since stopped working in other areas too, including the R24, starting from Bach Road for 12km to the OR Tambo International Airport interchange onto the R21 going south to Boksburg, and north to Kempton Park and Pretoria.

The DA said it would communicate with the MEC and liaise with the department of community safety “to formulate a strategy to safeguard its assets, and also question why critical components are not on hand to ensure the proper functioning of street lights and high-rise masts.”