Plans are in place to fix the roads and bridges: JRA

Addressing a media briefing in Midrand, the City of Johannesburg Regional director of Region A, Abigail Ndlovu said the wet weather caused further damage to roads. “The City of Johannesburg is aware of the flood damage and has plans to repair flood damage and upgrade road infrastructure.”

Johannesburg Roads Agency spokesperson Bertha Peters-Scheepers said by end of April the patch work on the roads in Region A would be complete. “The wet weather has worsened the situation on the roads but every week the agency staff are out patching roads. The pothole patching is a temporary solution and only lasts a few days.”

Peters-Scheepers added that a visual assessment had been done by the agency and problems on the roads are noted. “We also rely on the helpful reporting of potholes and storm drain problems by residents for us to effectively fix the problematic areas.”

“The Le Roux bridge, currently in construction, is a huge development for Midrand and upgrades for gravel roads in Ivory Park and Diepsloot are included in the current financial year budget.”

On a separate briefing in Johannesburg, the agency’s managing director Skhumbuzo Macozoma said, “R60 million funds allocated for flood damage will include ongoing maintenance, upgrading and replacement of infrastructure, with emphasis on the communities’ immediate needs.”

Due to heavy floods the City of Johannesburg has prioritised the building of nine bridges, one of which is the Riverside Road bridge in Ivory Park.

“The agency is repairing 12 703 potholes, 37 545 patchings, clearings and unblocking of 887 storm drains and ensuring that 2 114 traffic signals are working across the City of Johannesburg,” said Macozoma.

Bridges that will be upgraded are:

q Main Road – Major culvert Riverbend A.H

q Watercombe Street over bridge

q Farmall AH

q Riverside Road – Ivory Park

Report road and storm water issues: 0860 562 874/ hotline@jra.org.za