Vehicle damaged by ill-fitting manhole cover on Monument Road

Missing and ill-fitting manhole covers have become a great concern for residents in Kempton Park.

Dylan Bosson has raised concerns for the safety of other motorists after a manhole, located on Monument Road, left his vehicle immobile.

When Bosson’s vehicle hit the open manhole it was being towed. The incident was captured on SecPros street cameras.

As a result of the damage to the back wheel of Bosson’s vehicle, it needed to be removed using a flatbed rollback truck.

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Operations director of SecPros William Nell said the vehicle had been left at the side of the road for several days following the incident. He said it embarrassing that no one had the competency to fix the manhole.

“Nothing has been done about the manhole for months and one day a car or motorcycle will hit that manhole and someone will get hurt or worse,” said Nell.

Bosson said his car had already been involved in an accident and it was being towed to his house in Brentwood Park.

He said the car was towed from Pretoria when it hit the open manhole on Monument Road which left his car even more damaged.

“We drove from Pretoria to Kempton Park and that’s when we hit something and the guy that towed the car said he could not tow the car any further due to damages caused by the open manhole.”

Basson added that the collision with the open manhole had negatively affected him and left him without any source of transport.

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“I don’t have a car anymore and I need it to do everything,” he said.

“I believe the City of Ekurhuleni should fix the problematic manholes and replace the covers with something that criminals cannot steal and sell for a profit,” he said.

The Kempton Express also found damaged manholes on Highveld Road.

One of the manholes is situated on the pavement. It poses a risk to pedestrians.

Evidence suggests that several vehicles had already hit the ill-fitting cover.

A spokesperson for the City of Ekurhuleni, Zweli Dlamini, said the roads department was not aware of the open manholes in Kempton Park.

“I encourage residents to report such incidents to the city through the call centre,” he said.

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“Dealing with the theft of manhole covers requires a collective effort from all law and by-law enforcement entities such as SAPS and EMPD.

“This also goes out to the regulation of the scrap metal industry, since there are people who are salvaging steel from the manhole covers and any other road furniture such as stop signs and guardrails.

“The open manholes will be attended to before the end of the week,” said Dlamini.

He added that with the help from the community, such incidents can be prevented.