Birch Acres residents fed-up with potholes riddled roads

Birch Acres residents and motorists have expressed concern over large potholes that damage their vehicles on several roads.

According to residents some of the worst affected roads include Ossewa, Spekvreter and Boomkruiper.

Community members in the area said despite numerous reports to the City of Ekurhuleni, nothing has been done.

Sebenzile Madondo said Ossewa Road has been repaired, damaged and re-repaired and has since been damaged again.

He said the repairs failed because of poor engineering specifications.

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“These potholes have been reported several times to the councillor and the municipality. As motorists, we are the ones being compromised.

“Contractors come and work on the damaged sections by filling normal potholes but these road sections need proper filling, compacting and re-tarring,” he said.

“The section is soft and requires strengthening and compacting using G5 material and the tarring,” said Madondo.

Madondo said he has lived in Birch Acres for over 30 years, during which time the road has been repaired three times.

“The first contractor just poured tar on the damaged section. When I asked why they were doing that, the supervisor advised he was just filling the road because he was one of the road users.

“The second time, the contractor did the same thing, and no proper repairs were done,” said Madondo.

“The last time the appointed contractor tried to do a proper job, they compacted the area, but the compaction was on normal soil and not carried out in terms of the proper engineering that needs to be done,” he added.

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He said as a result, the road started to deform and crack in a month.

Madondo added that the City of Ekurhuleni contractors have been able to repair water leaks on Ossewa Road.

“The road now requires a permanent fix using proper engineering otherwise the municipality will continue to spend money in vain fixing the road without a proper specification on how to repair the road.”

Madondo said the only permanent fix for Ossewa Road is proper engineering done by a good contractor.

Fellow resident Antoinette Dorfling said she had been reporting the potholes to the CoE since 2022 and everyone seems to be ignoring her.

“The condition of the roads has caused my car to squeak and rattle like never before even though I drive at about 5km/h over the dreadful road.

“I have a slipped disc in my back that is causing me further issues because I have to go over these craters twice a day to get to and from work,” said Dorfling.

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She added that when she drives over Ossewa, Boomkruiper and Nuwejaarsvoël roads it feels as though the wheels of her car want to fall off.

Dorfling said her councillors advised her to keep reporting the issue so that engineers are aware of the problem.

“I report it but no one does anything.”

Dorfling pleaded with the municipality to fix the roads.

Madondo said with winter approaching, the damaged roads are going to be dark, and motorists will be exposed to potential accidents.

“These roads need immediate attention, otherwise, it is just going to deteriorate with adverse impact to motorists. The price we as taxpayers pay for the appointment of incompetent and uncaring contractors is high,” he said.

Ward 13 Clr Bulelwa Ngqwangi said she is aware of the potholes in Birch Acres because she uses the road every day.

Ngqwangi said she has reported the condition of the road since 2022.

She said she would continue to report the issue until the roads were completely fixed.

“The roads have been like this since I was appointed as the ward councillor. Five years ago, the road was patched because not all the departments were involved. I listed it on the IDP budget for 2022 with no luck.

“Last year, during the IDP review, I proposed the repairs again,” she said.“In September last year, a contractor was appointed to re-surface the roads, but because of the state of the road, contractors could not start on the project.

“The process of patching and surfacing roads is long because many departments must be involved and must be on the IDP budget of 2024.”

According to her, the cause of the damage to the road was underground water.

She fears sinkholes could develop soon if the road is not fixed properly.