Renovation of the old pothole-route between Erasmia and Sandton is completed and the R55 was re-opened last month, bringing relief to motorists from the bad state of the uneven surfaces and pothole-stricken road.
Traffic congestion will be greatly improved now the road is in good condition, said motorists travelling on the road daily.
“We are happy about the renovation of the R55. The road carries many people from Erasmia, Laudium, Atteridgeville and other areas, and needed to be repaired as it was also carrying trucks and busses to and from Johannesburg and Pretoria,” the chairperson of South African National Civics Organisation (SANCO), Nagesh Chetty said.
He said most people using the R55 do so to avoid using the highway with its e-tolls. He said although repairs have been completed, there are still some other problems that need to be addressed.
“At least we are able to use the road, unlike the R511 via Erasmia, that has been under construction for almost two years now. The road went from bad to worse and there are no signs of the road being completed anytime soon,” said Chetty.
Previously it was reported the R511-road would have been completed by last year, but the road is still incomplete and under construction. The same problems that existed with the R55-road, namely potholes and uneven surfaces, existed on the R511, on which repairs were the first to start.
“We do not understand how the R55 was completed before the R511. The contractors must be dragging their feet. First it was the contractor who ran off with the money, now we do not know why this is taking so long,” Erasmia community member, Ali Naidoo said.
A motorist from Pretoria West, Sammy Ngwenya, said he is happy the R55 renovations have been completed. “For the past months traffic on the road was a nightmare during renovations. I was late for work almost every day due to the traffic, now it is flowing without delay.”
Community members are happy about the completion of the R55-renovations, but would also like to see the R511-road completed.
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