While Tshwane schedules to repair potholes, north residents continue doing it themselves
“Many people from the community want to assist in the next event and I have a meeting with some of them who want to get involved and contribute.
Motorists in the Wonderpark area are worried about the workmanship shown by a Tshwane maintenance team that had dug up portions of the road in Hendrik Street, but hasn’t returned to complete the job.
This actually made the roads worse, they said.
“Metro employees worked on the road on February 22 but they haven’t come back since then,” said resident Malesela Lekota.
Lekota has been on the forefront with fellow community members to repair potholes in their area recently because they “were tired of waiting for the metro to come and repair something that had been reported last year”.
Tshwane metro spokesperson Selby Bokaba said many potholes have been formed because of the recent heavy rains.
“Our teams are taking longer than normal to complete a task. Therefore, there is a gap between the preparation and completion of a task.
“The regional maintenance team was dispatched to safeguard, cut edges and repair the failed base in preparation for the road surface to be reinstated.”
He said the repair work should be completed by mid-March.
Bokaba said the metro has regional monthly potholes repair programmes to address backlogs caused by flooding or heavy rainfall.
These repairs, however, depended on the availability of resources.
Ward 2 councillor Yolanda Duvenage said the below road works have been scheduled for March:
– Eeufees Street (1-3 March)
– Ben Viljoen Street (6-7 March)
– Gerrit Maritz Street (8 March)
– Jan van Riebeeck Street (9 March)
– Stasie Street (10 March)
Ward 4 councillor Petrus Malope said his ward was also scheduled for repairs later in March.
The dates and streets are as follows:
– Heinrich Street (27 March)
– Garden Street (28 March)
– Railway Street (29-31 March)
In the meantime, Montana resident Cindy Ridley, with residents’ help, managed to fill 10 holes with asphalt in Dr Van der Merwe Road from Braam Pretorius Street up to 3rd Drive and fill the entire Veda Road with sand “since the holes were very deep”.
This was all done on the weekend of February 25 as she gained three more assistants who assisted her.
Since she started the initiative, she had good feedback from community members. Several community members decided to put their “penny in a pothole” through donations.
“As we were working, residents gave us cold drinks and water to keep us hydrated through the extreme heat.
“Many people from the community want to assist in the next event and I have a meeting with some of them who want to get involved and contribute.
“We are busy with many developments and we are all very excited for what’s to come,” she said.
Residents can report any potholes to the Tshwane metro at 012 358 0614 or 080 111 1556 or email pothole@tshwane.gov.za.
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