Sinkhole puts community in danger
Residents are upset about the tremendous inconvenience that sinkholes in the area have been causing them, and have asked the Tshwane metro to do something about it.
The outcome of a geological drilling investigation by the metro to determine the stability conditions of the roadway in the vicinity of the sinkholes in Valhalla on Stephanus Drive will be known once the final report has been established. This was revealed after residents in the area raised concerns about the sinkholes in Stephanus Schoeman Drive (M24) between Alaric Road in Valhalla and just beyond the Defence Force grounds before the R55 (Quagga Road).
According to residents, the sinkholes have caused chaos, as they now have to use alternative routes to reach their destinations. One of the residents in the area said the past three months have been difficult, as it now takes her almost an hour to take her child to school in Erasmia. “It used to take me just about 15 minutes to get to my child’s school. The sinkhole has inconvenienced us as a community, and we want to know if the metro can do something to assist us.”
Tshwane’s spokesperson, Selby Bokaba, said the assessment of the borehole results would establish whether the roadway was geologically safe for traffic use and whether it could be reopened to the public. He added that once the final report has been received, the outcome would be communicated to the public. He said the municipality was aware of the matter and that the road was closed due to the presence of three sinkholes that had formed in the road servitude. “The sinkholes vary in size from 5m to 10m in diameter and are up to 5m deep. One sinkhole shows a cavity at the base that seems to extend toward the roadway,” explained Bokaba.
He further said that an accumulation of storm water at the low point, which was accelerated by the excessive rainfall in early March, may have led to the formation of the sinkholes.
Ward 66 councillor, Ina Strijdom, said a number of boreholes would be drilled in a staggered manner alongside the roadway and a few on the sidewalk in the vicinity of the sinkholes. “Once this process is finalised, the investigative works will commence. Priority was placed on this and the metro anticipates that the investigations will commence during May/June 2014,” said Strijdom.
She further said that after completing the investigation, the metro would determine how much time was needed to rehabilitate the sinkholes. “It will then also be determined when the road will be reopened again and residents will be informed of the outcome. We will keep them updated in the media,” she concluded.
