No action on the potholes on Oxford Street
The potholes in the middle of the road force cars to swerve to avoid them, risking damage and accidents.
Despite scheduling repairs for April 28, Johannesburg Road Agency’s (JRA) Region B depot has not properly repaired potholes on Oxford Street in Ferndale.
The potholes in the middle of the road force cars to swerve to avoid them, risking damage and accidents. The holes have only been filled with tar chips, which is a temporary measure.
On April 22, JRA’s acting head of regional operations, Mpho Maruping, explained that the entity prioritises repairs on high-traffic roads based on safety risk, severity of damage, traffic volume, strategic importance of the route, and service level obligations.
Read more: The dreaded pothole – it is everywhere?
He said the area will be demarcated and barricaded to ensure the safety of the public, and Oxford Street will be submitted for assessment to determine its condition. However, the site has not been barricaded.
Ward 104 councillor Emi Koekemoer said in the councillor forum that it was confirmed that JRA does, in fact, have asphalt. “The asphalt plant has been back up and running, but for the past two weeks, the potholes have been filled with tar chips. Now these tar chips are not even like the engineering standard tar chips that they are using.
“It’s literally broken up pieces of tar from other projects. Why are they doing that if there is a working asphalt plant? I don’t understand it.”
Also read: Road in Bromhof suffers from pothole infestation
Koekemoer said Oxford Street is at a point now where people have to drive into oncoming traffic to get past the potholes.
“They literally cannot go through it. It will not only damage your wheels, but it will damage your car as well. It’s getting to a point where you can’t avoid these potholes anymore. You either have to swerve into oncoming traffic, or you have to go literally five kilometres an hour over it. That is basically all that residents can do at the moment.”
Questions were sent to JRA, and their response will be published once made available.
Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration!
