Bystanders pitch in to help car stuck in huge Pta pothole
There is, however, hope for residents in the north of Pretoria as the metro plans to fix several potholes in August.
Potholes continued to plague the roads in the north of Pretoria.
The roads in the area have gotten so bad that several bystanders recently had to jump in to help a motorist whose car got stuck in an enormous water-filled pothole.
“Someone reported a water leak on the corner of Ben Viljoen and Stasie streets,” said Mari Labuschagne, the motorist’s daughter.
“My mother dropped me off at work and everything was fine.
“But later when she got back, she drove into the hole. Luckily, it happened as she was pulling away from a stop sign and there was no damage caused.”
The Tshwane metro has since attended to the water leak and back-filled the trench as part of the region’s pothole repairs programme.
“Repairs in ward 2 are scheduled for August,” said Tshwane metro spokesperson Selby Bokaba.
“It is hoped that the team will be working from August 13 to 19 in line with the pothole repairs plan, which is informed by a scouting exercise undertaken to determine the scope of work.
“The works order is now with the metro’s internal roads and stormwater section to assist with tar patchwork.”
The metro recently acquired a “jet-patcher” as the metro allocated R154-million in its 2022/23 budget allocation for road maintenance, according to Tshwane mayor Randall Williams.
Part of this allocation included reactive maintenance to the value of R62-million, which looks to address potholes and road repairs.
The amount of potholes in the north of Pretoria has seen residents and local organisations taking matters into their own hands to try and fix the situaiton.
In July, House of Peace, a homeless shelter in the north, together with local NPO Pretoria-Noord Ons sal Self decided to take matters into their own hands and started cleaning public parks, streets and fix potholes as well as other damaged infrastructure.
In April, residents in Jan van Riebeeck Street had to resort to graffiti on a traffic barrier to warn others of a “moerse gat” (huge hole) in the road.
The hole was actually a ditch dug by contractors extending electricity to a nearby building.
It was reported to the Tshwane metro by the local ward councillor, Yolanda Duvenage, and repaired.
Meanwhile, motorists who had unfortunate experiences with potholes can submit claims to the metro for damage caused.
“Claims can be submitted which will be investigated and, subsequently, a decision will be made on whether to accept liability or not within the applicable legal framework,” said Bokaba.
Residents may submit their claims to the metro’s legal department by completing a claim form.
The completed claim form and supporting documents must be submitted to claims@tshwane.gov.za .
An acknowledgement of receipt letter will be sent to the claimant, advising him/her of the allocated reference number.
The claim will be investigated and thereafter submitted to the metro’s insurance broker for an assessment and decision.
Depending on the assessment, a claim is either settled or repudiated.
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