Collapsed road leads to major safety concerns

Residents are concerned after a part of Stegman Street collapsed, allegedly due to the negligent execution of a project connected to the Droogeheuwel Development.

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On April 16, the Randfontein Herald arrived on the scene where a part of the road had collapsed. One bystander, Kallie Potgieter, who lives across from the collapsed road, expressed his dissatisfaction towards the project.

“A trench was dug by the municipality to install a pipe for the development. While digging the trench, the workers cut three electricity cables, which resulted in a three-week electricity shortage. They eventually fixed the problem; however, after they paved the road, it started sinking. Three weeks ago, they paved it again, but this piece of road fell through,” he explained.

“I have been working in the civil construction industry for 36 years, and I could see that the contractors did not execute the project correctly since day one.

They have not been following the regulations and standards. Who approved this?” he further stated.

He added that this incident could lead to a much bigger disaster soon if the municipality does not fix the mistakes.

“What will happen to the people who drive at night and do not see the hole? What about the elderly people who walk these streets? They will be the cause of the death of residents if they do not fix this issue,” he expressed.

The Rand West City Local Municipality’s community liaison officer (CLO) in construction, Molefi Motaung, explained that the development is an ongoing project planned for 10 years.

“As the CLO of the development, I want to make sure the community understands the project and what is happening. We are having certain challenges with Ward 3. What has happened here was not by choice. The road started collapsing due to heavily loaded trucks driving on this road consistently.

This was a problem that was out of our control, however, we are doing everything we can to fix it. We are here to assist and help the community,” Motaung said.

He concluded by ensuring that fixing the road will commence today, April 17.