A road excavation on Rustenburg Road in Melville has remained unresolved for about a month, raising concerns about delays, accountability and the state of infrastructure management in the area.

Ward 87 councillor Kyle Jacobs said the problem began after a pipe burst, and Johannesburg Water (JW) was on site three weeks ago to carry out repairs. However, he said it remains unclear whether the burst has actually been fixed.

“Because of the current water outages, we cannot determine if the leak has been resolved. We will have to wait for the supply to return to the area to see if the burst is fixed.”

Read more: Johannesburg Roads Agency tackles Gordon Road sinkhole caused by leaking pipe in Northcliff

He added that pressure would continue to be placed on JW and Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) to fill in the excavation and resurface the road. Jacobs described the situation as part of a broader, ongoing problem, saying that reinstatements are often left unresolved for extended periods. He said that JW and JRA are slow to address such issues, with some cases remaining open for months.

“It is something you try to put pressure on the city to address because they are currently failing,” he said.

JW said that they are aware of the media query and will provide a response within their standard turnaround time of 48 working hours, depending on the complexity of the matter and the input required from all relevant technical departments.

The publication sent a media query to JRA for comment; their response will be added once received.

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