BETHAL – With the heavy rain experienced over the past few weeks, a dug out trench near the bridge on the R38 towards Hendrina is wreaking havoc.
According to a resident, the trench runs across the road and was dug open a while back by the Govan Mbeki Municipality.
It was filled up with gravel.
Now with the rain season upon us, the gravel washed away, leaving a huge hole and causing major damage to vehicles.
According to the resident, municipal workers were responsible for digging open this trench to lay down electricity cables.
“I approached them when they were digging another trench in town and I made them aware of the one that they had already dug open and still needed to fix it up,” said the resident.
“Vehicles have to come to a complete stop when going through this trench.”
The resident said a vehicle had been left over night on the bridge due to the damage cause by the trench. When they went to check up on the owner of the vehicle, they spotted another vehicle that was also severely damaged.
“There are no warning signs of any sort.”
Besides the financial burden of having to repair damaged rims and tyres, concerns are that the open trench could result in a serious accident.
The Ridge Times requested response from Govan Mbeki Municipality, Mr Benzi Soko, as well as the Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport, but at the time of going to press, both parties failed to respond.
