Metro ‘jet patching’ potholes in the north of Pretoria

Pothole repairs in the north of Pretoria got a massive boost this week, thanks to a new “jet patching” process used by the Tshwane metro.

“Jet patching” is a specialised process using a machine to greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to fix potholes, in some instances bringing down the time spent on repairs to mere minutes.

Its roll-out kicked off in region 4 in the north of Pretoria on Wednesday, according to local ward councillor Yolanda Duvenage.

According to her, a “self-contained solution is used with the jet-patching machine”.

“We are targeting specific main roads which will free up region teams to attend to other areas,” she said.

She said by way of indication from the metro over the past two days the various depots involved, have collected 162 and 161 tonnes of hot mix asphalt.

“Well done to those involved for rolling up their sleeves and helping to fix potholes in their wards.”

She said an integrated urban management approach was being implemented to ensure that a complete package was delivered.

“The idea was to repair potholes on main routes with the jet patch machine, so that task teams don’t fall behind with work in the roads and stormwater department of the municipality.

“Thus those task teams can continue to repair potholes on the smaller roads and hopefully get ahead of the backlog.

“In ward 2, we will focus on Rachel de Beer, Gerrit Maritz, President Steyn streets and Daan de Wet Nel Avenue.”

Duvenage said she was aware of 129 reported potholes in the Pretoria North residential area alone.

“That easily constitutes half of my ward alone,” she said.

Trucks were also on their way to region 1 to start repairs to potholes in that area as well.

Rekord reported earlier that the maintenance work to roads and especially repairing potholes were long overdue, especially considering the recent municipal strikes and heavy rains that resulted in considerable damage to the roads.

Potholes can cause dangerous situations for pedestrians, who have to share sidewalks with vehicles, or when the potholes are so big that they inconvenience motorists and drivers have to give each other right of way.

Potholes can also cause considerable damage to vehicles and their tyres and can even contribute to, or be the cause of motor vehicle accidents, especially if a driver loses control of his vehicle.

One of the main reasons potholes developed in the roads was due to a lack of maintenance as roads consisted usually of seven layers of components under the tar layer, which we know as the road surface.

A pothole develops when water comes in between the layers, which then causes the top layers to collapse.

Recurring potholes were due to potholes not being repaired properly.

“I am as excited about this project as a child about Christmas,” Duvenage said.

“I believe we can solve this problem now once and for all.”

Last month, residents spray-painted “pasop vir die moerse gat” (watch out for the huge hole) on a plastic barrier next to an unfilled trench in Jan van Riebeeck Street.

The trench was later filled up.

ALSO READ: The dreaded pothole – it is everywhere?

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