A developing sinkhole has been discovered along Hendrik Potgieter Road near Hillfox Value Centre, between Albert Street and Rhinoceros Road.

Both lanes remain open, with warning signs and barricades in place, and motorists are urged to drive with caution.

The Roodepoort Northsider visited the site with Ward 89 councillor Zander Shawe, who said the sinkhole does not appear to be expanding for now.

Shawe added that he had conducted oversight checks with his counterpart in the Provincial Legislature for Transport.

“The matter has been escalated to the MEC for Transport in Gauteng,” he confirmed, adding that authorities are taking proactive steps to manage the situation.

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The discovery came in the same week that the Gauteng Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) hosted the province’s first Provincial Roundtable on Dolomite and Sinkholes, which shed light on the causes of such ground collapses.

The event, held at Silverstar Casino, brought together experts from the Council for Geoscience (CGS), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), municipalities, the mining sector, academia and engineering professionals. Speakers explained that sinkholes reflect the broader challenges posed by dolomitic land in Gauteng.

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At the roundtable, CGS experts noted that while some sinkholes occur naturally, most are caused by human activity such as ageing infrastructure, mining, groundwater extraction and water ponding. They recommended measures including water loss control, underground leak detection, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based hazard mapping and risk-based land-use regulation to prevent future sinkholes.

The CSIR showcased technologies such as ground-penetrating radar and geolocation tools for early detection, and stressed the need for a centralised GIS-based data repository to improve coordination between municipalities and disaster-management authorities.

MEC Jacob Mamabolo said the roundtable provided a ‘pivotal platform for collaboration, evidence-sharing and integrating science into disaster risk management’.

CoGTA Deputy Minister Dr Namane Dickson Masemola added that South Africa must take a leadership role in addressing dolomitic-land challenges through science, strong leadership and intergovernmental cooperation, ensuring that discussions are turned into practical, actionable solutions.

The Provincial Disaster Management Centre will consolidate the outcomes of the roundtable into a technical brief to guide Gauteng’s Disaster Management Workstream, ensuring that sinkhole management is proactive, co-ordinated and science-led. Authorities continue to monitor the developing sinkhole and implement preventive measures.