NEWCASTLE – DA Councillor, Bertie Meiring has called Newcastle’s roads a disaster.
His comments on the state of roads within the municipal boundary were made in a motion to the Local Council last Wednesday.
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Cllr Meiring stated the municipality had turned a blind eye to the situation.
“Potholes have become a norm and are scattered all over the place.”
Cllr Meiring then listed potential problems which stemmed from potholes and cracks in the road, which are being reported more frequently of late.
He said water flowing underground damaged the road from below.
Cllr Meiring also mentioned the escalating costs of repairing the roads in future, eventually leading to the reconstruction of the roads.
Vehicle damage and economic loss also made his list.
Mayor, Makhosini Nkosi attempted to raise a point of order at this point, but was informed by Speaker, Jabu Khumalo the motion was simply being tabled.
This meant no discussion was permitted to take place.
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Moving on, Cllr Meiring said the average lifespan of a tar road was between 20 and 25 years, if well-maintained, quoting technical reports.
“The estimated costs rise to six times the maintenance costs after three years of neglect, and to 18 times after five years of neglect.”
Cllr Meiring said the DA had already raised some points last week, regarding unnecessary expenditure by the cash-strapped municipality.
He believes money should have been spent on roads and service delivery.
He then moved to have Technical Services begin resolving road problems immediately, and was informed this would be taken to the relevant Portfolio Committee.
However, as the year has closed, this might only happen in the New Year.
In the meantime, even more complaints about uneven road surfaces, potholes and more continue to inundate the Advertiser.
“We will continue to put pressure on the municipality to fix our roads instead of using public funds on unnecessary and useless expenditure,” Cllr Meiring concluded.
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