Pothole nightmare in Bloubosrand

Oosterland and Conduit Street in Bloubosrand have become impossible to drive safely on and a nightmare for motorists.

Businessmen have also complained about the City of Joburg’s reluctance in repairing the roads in the area.

A concerned resident Steven Card said he is fed up with potholes in the area.

Card said, “I have been dealing with the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) for more than a year in my personal capacity regarding the potholes – the residents are fed up with the endless excuses by the JRA and council.”

Due to the potholes, motorist drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid them and this often causes traffic jams and near accidents.

“We have requested that the roads in and around Bloubosrand be tarred completely and not just have the potholes patched up,” Card said.

He stated that, “In the past year and a half the potholes have been patched twice, with each patch only lasting around two weeks. The streets are poorly lit and the potholes become extremely dangerous at night. They are deep, large holes that can cause major damage to a vehicle or cause a car to bounce into oncoming traffic.”

Another concerned motorist, Dylan Randall said there were times when he nearly got into an accident trying to swerve out of the way of a pothole.

“When it rains you can’t see the potholes which leads to driving in them and damaging your tyres. These potholes also cause traffic jams as people need to wait for the oncoming traffic to pass, to be able to drive on the other side of the lane to avoid them – this has made me late for work a few times.”

However, the agency’s spokesperson Mosa Makhalima said, “The JRA is aware of potholes in Bloubosrand and would like to apologise for all the inconvenience caused. All roads are under the resurfacing programme and the patching preparation and resealing has started.”