Councillors in Region B and JRA have differing opinions when it comes to service delivery
13 599km of road surfaces and related infrastructure maintained by the JRA on a best-effort basis when funds are available for repairs.
The poor state of repair of roads in the region has ward councillors concerned that their areas are being neglected by JRA.
“In my 20 months of being a councillor, I must say Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has done the least service delivery in my ward, and Region B as a whole,” said Ward 88 councillor Nicolene Jonker.
So too said Ward 86 councillor Chantelle Fourie-Shawe. “The state of the roads in Region B and across the city has deteriorated to a laughable state. This is, however, a symptom of a much greater problem that contributes to the lack of service delivery and poor governance.”
Ward 87 councillor Bridget Steer said roads she highlighted as needing repairs over two years ago remain dilapidated. “I submitted one list for consideration for repair from the city’s Integrated Development Plan in 2020. JRA is focusing on major arterial roads, so it is unlikely these will be done. Residents have also logged these issues, so hopefully they will get seen to.”
These include:
- Carlow Road
- High Street
- Loch Avenue
- Westcliff Drive
- Darnaway Road
- Eridge Road
Below, the JRA provides a comprehensive look at how they carry out their function in the city, with a lens over Region B.
The entity is responsible for the condition of road surfaces, bridges, and other related infrastructure. This is all guided by the strategic plan for the financial year and the availability of resources required for a particular job. Jobs are identified by Visual Condition Assessments (VCA). These inspections are conducted every two years, subject to the availability of funds.
The city has 13 599 km of roads
- Surfaced roads – 12 430.47, built to last 25 years
- Unsurfaced – 1 169
JRA’s Bertha Peters-Scheepers said they have two streams of maintenance. “Regional teams follow a proactive and reactive approach to managing roads.”
Proactive
Operations teams conduct visual and other checks to enable them to plan for which roads need to be resurfaced or attended to. In winter, for example, stormwater drains are cleaned in preparation for the summer rains.
Reactive
This maintenance happens when there is an emergency on a road like the forming of a dangerous pothole or where signage has been damaged or removed.
Typical jobs undertaken
- Preservation of existing road infrastructure
- Pothole repairs
- Crack sealing
- Road resurfacing
- Unblocking stormwater drains
- Repairing or replacing vandalised traffic lights
- Guardrails
- Kerb inlets
- Bridge repairs
- Skoffeling (cleaning and clearing)
- Road markings
Reasons outside of JRA’s control that damage infrastructure
- Overloading of heavy-duty vehicles
- Uncontrolled excavations for new services like Johannesburg Water (JW) fixing or installing pipes
- Increased quantities of passenger vehicles
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Natural elements like thunderstorms
- Illegal mining
“JW has been issued with a wayleave permit to enable them to work on the roads and road reserves to undertake necessary emergency repair work. This arrangement means that JW must carry out their own reinstatements or closing of a job themselves, work that is therefore not JRA’s responsibility.”
How does maintenance in Region B compare to others across Johannesburg?
Funds are allocated to regions based on the kinds of work that need to be done in that area. “If one region requires more work to be done, it will be allocated more based on the quantity and severity of the required work.”
“While we wait for the next VCA, work is identified from site inspections by inspectors from regional offices and logged calls from the public and councillors.”
“In the case of Region B, councillors should specify why they say that Region B is not looked after as well as the other regions and we will look into the claims and take whatever remedial steps may be necessary.”
Examples provided to JRA include:
- Komatie Road, Emmarentia
- Senior Drive, Northcliff
- Milner Avenue, Waterval Estate
- Barry Road, Risidale
- Arkansas Road, Berario
- Langenhoven Road, Montgomery Park
“In the case of the above-mentioned roads that have work that should have been undertaken, we will ask the regional office to inspect them to establish the existence and validity of the claims. If valid, based on the types and extent of the work needed, resources will be allocated to address the problems.”
General overview
On July 2 last year, JRA began working on a city-wide road resurfacing programme that is scheduled to be concluded by the end of this month weather and other interruptions excluded.
“Streets not attended to by June 30 will be carried over to next year’s programme.”
Since road resurfacing works began, over 98% of all planned works have been achieved across all regions, A to G. This work says Peters-Scheepers was done internally, without the use of external service providers.
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