Cosmo City potholes continue to terrorise residents
JRA has finally decided to fix the potholes that have been giving residents of Ward 100 sleepless nights.
Potholes in Central African Republic Road in Cosmo City have been a terror for residents, causing them to walk further when needing to catch a taxi or drive using another route.
The potholes, caused by underground water according to Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA), have deteriorated in a way that has forced motorists to drive on the sidewalks, which is not a safe thing to do given that there is a school nearby, and it poses a risk to learners who walk there.
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Residents have mentioned that the state of the road has left them fearing for their lives, as taxi drivers no longer use that road. That causes them to walk further from where they stay in order to get transport to and from work, making them easy targets for criminals.
Residents even started putting concrete into some of the potholes that were still fixable, so that they would not end up looking like those on Central African Republic Road.
Ward 100 councillor Lyborn Ndou mentioned that, since he was placed in a position to address the needs of those in Ward 100, which was four years ago, he has constantly reported the matter to JRA. He called again on June 10, but never received a suitable response from them.
“When I realised that the road was getting worse, I contacted both JRA and Johannesburg Water, thinking that they could help with stopping the water that keeps overflowing and damaging the road.” said Ndou. “I was told that JRA is the one responsible, as the water flowing onto the road is due to a damaged storm water drain, causing the road to be in that condition.”
JRA has confirmed that road repairs are currently underway, and anticipates completing the project by the end of June 2025. However, when visiting the site on June 2, no repairs were being undertaken.
Head of Regional Operations Khaya Gqibitole said: “Due to the severe deterioration of the road surface, we will resurface the road altogether, which is a long-term solution to eliminate potholes, improve the quality of the road, and extend its lifespan. The repair work will be done with JRA’s standards, with quality assurance conducted by JRA’s material laboratory, as well as competent supervisors.”
The fixing of the road will bring joy to the residents of Ward 100, as this is something that they have been complaining about for a while.
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