Controversy has raged over the maintenance of gravel roads around Polokwane over the past few years, and the start of the rainy season does not bode well for residents who have to use these roads.
In the past, some residents were stranded on their smallholdings and farms due to the state of the roads after the rain.
Review spoke to road surfacing experts about these roads and what the affected communities could do to survive the rainy season.
Because rainwater is the biggest enemy of a dirt road, the experts advised that communities construct a slope to drain water away from the road.
Residents who used the road regularly, would be able to determine the water’s flow path, said the experts.
They also said residents should be able to identify the areas where water would dam up and cause skidding.
“If you slope the road towards the outside of a road bank and let the water run off, your work is done.
“This will give you a useable surface in the middle of the road,” Joseph Marudi, a roads project manager said.
Marudi also advised that residents could trim the trees along these roads to prevent overhanging branches from falling into the road.
He said the road surface could be smoothed out by dragging something heavy over the road behind a vehicle, and larger potholes could be filled with rocks or sandbags.
Polokwane Municipality spokersperson, Matshidiso Mothapo, said there were many roads that were the municipality’s responsibility, while others were the responsibility of the residents who used the roads.
Mothapo said the municipality had plans in place to deal with the rainy season and the public was advised to contact the municipality to find out who was responsible for the particular roads they used.
He said problems could be reported to the municipality’s roads and stormwater section at (015) 290 2088.
