Homestead Avenue pothole finally repaired
A resident tells of her experience of losing a tyre due to an infamous pothole on Homestead Avenue.
A pothole in Homestead Avenue which caused headaches for residents for some time was finally repaired on March 2.
Resident Renette Hendricks explained she was driving to work on February 24 when she lost one of her tyres. She stated that this specific pothole is a concern since you cannot just stop (given the traffic behind you) and if you swerve, you endanger oncoming traffic with only two lanes on that route.
However, in her case, she did try to swerve and still managed to hit the pothole as there was oncoming traffic. She suspects there might have been sharp rocks in the pothole because the tyre was cut on the inside.
She continued driving to work and by that afternoon her tyre was flat. At first, she suspected it was just a puncture, but on closer inspection, she discovered the tyre had a cut on the side, which could not be repaired and she had to replace the tyre.
“The worst part is it was one of the two new front tyres. They didn’t even have 1 000km on them. It is sad, it costs money,” she said.
Hendricks also mentioned she saw a few posts on social media where motorists also complained about the pothole and how they also had to replace tyres, rims, and even mags. She added the pothole can be the cause of a serious accident if a person swerves into oncoming traffic. She says at night it is even more dangerous if you get a flat tyre and you are standing alone on the side of the road, especially for a woman.
“As things are now, I don’t want to lose another tyre so I take an alternative route to work, but a person prefers to use the road you know and with the least traffic … It is a problem.”
Sakkie van der Berg, another motorist, added a person has to drive off the road to avoid the pothole along with the oncoming traffic and there is rubbish lying on the side of the road, which can overturn your car or damage the car and you end up stranded.
Phillip Montshiwa, spokesperson for the municipality explained, “The recent heavy rains caused some of the previously repaired potholes to reopen, leading the municipality to fix them again.”
