Boskruin’s pothole problems a pain for residents

If you take a drive down Swaeltjie Road in Boskruin you better be prepared for a bumpy ride, and residents are fed up with the state of it.

The issues with the busy thoroughfare into the suburb started more than five years ago. Various spots with large potholes have been filled up on occasion, but very quickly erode or open up at another location.

“The road has rapidly deteriorated and the patching up is not working. I have counted at least 26 large potholes, with various other small holes that could potentially pose a danger in the future,” said concerned resident Fabian Nunes.

The entire road from Kelly Avenue to Wilgeboom Avenue has been affected, and Nunes suggested that this could be due to water running down the road during the rainy season into the nearby valley.

“What also may have initiated the damage all those years ago was a large amount of construction that took place with heavy vehicles using the road,” said Nunes.

He added that driving on the road had become a nightmare and was becoming increasingly dangerous due to drivers swerving to avoid the large potholes.

“Last year’s rains were very heavy, and the road was in a sorry state. Even though we have continuously reported the issue over the years, we decided to actively report the issue from the beginning of this year. Since then, nothing has happened.”

He added that the Covid-19 lockdown had not helped their efforts but after lockdown levels were relaxed, the residents banded together to form a petition to the City. “We were told that there was no budget at the current moment to resurface the road and that there would be issues sending inspectors to perform a survey of the road… it looks as if this will only be sorted out sometime next year if we are lucky. This is our main issue. We need some communication on the issue.”

Head of Boskruin Residents Against Crime, Desme Human said the amount of time taken to report the issue and consequently no solid solution being provided, was upsetting. “We have received little response to our petition even after our 154 residents signed it. We hope that our concerns can be addressed soon,” added Human.

Ward 101 councillor Dalu Cele said he was well aware of the issue.”I have escalated the issue several times with the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA). They decide on which roads to resurface and which ones remain to be on pothole repairs. I will endeavour to escalate the issue again with the JRA,” he added.

Randburg Sun has contacted the Johannesburg Roads Agency which has not yet responded to questions put to them at the time of going to press.