Street left unsafe after water repairs
What should have been temporary is now a long-standing issue.
A traffic barrier, originally intended as a temporary safety measure, has now become a symbol of municipal neglect, according to a resident in Dolfhout Street.
After a water leak was fixed in the street, the barrier was put in place in September 2024, and the road surface has never been restored. The water leak on the side of the road was repaired several months ago by Johannesburg Water (JW), but the site has not been rehabilitated. All that remains is an uneven surface and the barrier, which continues to disrupt traffic flow by forcing motorists to manoeuvre around it.
The RiverWel Residents Association’s (RiverWel RA) Neville Burnett, who is also a resident in the street, told the Roodepoort Northsider that he is increasingly frustrated by the lack of follow-through.
“JW is obviously not bothered to repair the road after the leak was repaired. The same thing happens on the pavements in Wildebraam, with all the holes still open,” Burnette said.
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According to JW’s official Service Delivery Protocol and the City of Johannesburg By-laws, the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) is responsible for road reinstatements after any underground infrastructure work, such as water, sewer, or stormwater repairs that require road excavation.
The RiverWel RA expressed that they have repeatedly raised the issue with municipal authorities, but with little progress.
The persistence of barriers and unrepaired pavements has also sparked broader concerns about service delivery standards. For many people, this problem reflects a cycle in which essential repairs are carried out but never completed to a safe and acceptable standard.
JRA was approached for comment on the reasons the road has not been repaired and why the barrier remains in place. Despite being given a clear deadline date and their promise to deliver a response on that date, no response has been received.
The Northsider sent them an email to remind them of the deadline; by the time of publication, none had been received yet.
