Plans to repair Atlas Road put on hold yet again
Residents are still at risk of motor vehicle accidents and continue to be victims of crime
PLANS to repair the lighting on Atlas Road have been put on hold yet again – and residents remain in the dark.
The service level agreement which was to be signed in December last year has still not been approved by SANRAL and the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GDRAT).
The agreement ensured that the lights on Gauteng’s freeways would be adequately maintained.
According to DA spokesperson on roads, MPL Graham Gersbach, this was revealed at a recent Roads and Transport committee meeting at the Provincial Legislature.
“This agreement would ensure that SANRAL would repair and maintain lights on provincial roads, including the R24 (Albertina Sisulu freeway) from Johannesburg to OR Tambo International Airport and the Atlas Road off-ramp from the R21.
EXPRESS reported in November last year that the agreement, between Ekurhuleni Metro and the Gauteng Roads Department, had been expected to be concluded by the end of November last year.
According to Gersbach, the reasons provided for the delay include:
• The agreements have been referred back to both the Legal Departments of the Gauteng Provincial Government and SANRAL for further negotiation;
• The “as built drawings” for the design of the Atlas Road off-ramp when the R21 was handed over by GDRAT to SANRAL were outdated and did not reflect the current configuration of this off ramp;
• Sections of road, inclusive of the P40 and the section to where the lighting type changes, should have initially been handed over to SANRAL.
“The lights on the R24 have not been working for close on a year now, and according to residents the lights on the provincial section of the Atlas Road off-ramp have been a problem for over six years,” Gersbach said.
The lights on Atlas Road have not been working mostly due to cable theft.
According to Ismail Vadi, MEC for roads and transport, 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 activities.
The area had also become a crime hot spot as a result of the street lights not working, with high rates of hijackings and smash and grab incidents.
According to Gersbach, 70 cases relating to motor vehicle crimes have been opened at Kempton Park SAPS in the past three years. As a result, four police officers have been deployed daily to the area to ensure the safety of motorists.
EXPRESS had also previously reported that the lights hadn’t been fixed due to a shortage of parts for repairs. 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.
“In the meantime, while GDRT and SANRAL sort out their past mistakes, and the legal departments are sitting on the draft agreement, no maintenance and repairs are being done to any lighting on provincial roads across Gauteng,” Gersbach said.
He concluded that residents therefore were at risk of motor vehicle accidents due to poor lighting – while crimes at off-ramps like Atlas Road continue to escalate.
