Man offers time and money to make a difference
Kobus van Zyl took matters into his own hands and repaired 102 potholes on the R559, as it affected not only him, but also other motorists making use of the road.
As a frequent user of the pothole-riddled R559, a resident felt he had to step up and fix it, because no one else would.
On June 13, the Randfontein Herald reported on a vehicle rollover that occurred on the R559 in May, leaving the driver with permanent damage to her back.
• Read the initial story by clicking here
Since the incident, the road has been repaired by Kobus van Zyl.
About two weeks ago, Van Zyl drove on the R559 and hit one of the potholes, his corn fields are on both sides of the road and he also makes use of that route to deliver his corn to the silos. It made him realise the danger of the road, and he decided that if no one else was going to do something about the road, he would fix what he could – 102 potholes in total.
He bought four tons of tar, which he added is from a company accredited to fix potholes. However, it was not enough, and he had to buy four more to make repairs. He mentioned there are still a few potholes in the middle of the road that he will repair if he can get funds to do so.
Van Zyl added that the most important thing is that the potholes he repaired were done properly and won’t need to be fixed again.
We cleaned the potholes, scraped off the edges and compacted the tar correctly inside the pothole.”
It cost him R44 000 to do so, and he only received one donation; the rest was from his own pocket. He also used his own workers to do the work, which added to his expenses.
“If people can help with donations, I will repair the rest of the road,” Van Zyl concluded.
Any person who would like to donate can contact Van Zyl on 082 855 7661.
