SECTIONS of Umhlanga Rocks Drive and a portion of Armstrong Avenue will be resurfaced by the city’s roads department in the coming months. However, the department’s decision to resurface the upper layer of these roads has angered uMhlanga ward councillor, Heinz de Boer.

“It does not take an engineer to realise that a road is failing badly. We have a divide between engineers and what the communities want and need. Choosing to resurface probably two of the busiest roads in the area will cause major traffic congestion, particularly at peak hours, which will make it horrendous,” he said.

He added that there seemed to be no element of public or councillor participation in the decision-making process by which roads get resurfaced.

“The system in place is earmarking roads that are in a better condition than some of the appalling roads that have no seen any rehabilitation done on them in more than ten years. Some roads in Glenhills, including Rinaldo Road, Pigeon Wood Close, Timavo Drive, Solandra Grove and Ronan Road in La Lucia as well as Herrwood Drive in uMhlanga, to name a few, are in a shocking state. The fact that they do not carry as much traffic as high-order roads is neither here nor there.

“I do agree that the Umhlanga Rocks Drive section may need resurfacing but I object fully and strongly to the resurfacing of Armstrong Avenue. That section has three patches on it and it has not been subject to frequent water bursts. Ronan Road, which is a feeder road to a major school and serves as an important link road in La Lucia, is in a terrible state, with dozens of small and large patches on it,” he said.