The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has confirmed that repair work is currently underway on the driveway sinkhole on Pennyweight Avenue, following delays that left the homeowner without driveway access for almost two months.

The sinkhole formed near a stormwater structure on November 20 when a van got stuck while exiting the property after dropping off the family’s dogs from daycare. Homeowner Kyle O’Brien shared that they had reported the issue immediately and have been awaiting repairs since.

O’Brien told the Roodepoort Northsider that the JRA team had indicated repairs would be done in December, which did not happen. A further commitment to attend to the site in early January also did not take place, prompting a follow-up request for comment from JRA.

According to JRA, work on the site began on Monday, February 2. JRA’s head of Regional Operations, Khaya Gqibitole, said the agency now expects the work to be completed within the coming weeks.

• Also read: Damaged stormwater blamed for driveway sinkhole

“JRA teams had scheduled to undertake the work earlier. The repairs were delayed but are currently underway,” Gqibitole said. “Our teams anticipate completing the work during the week of February 15.”

Addressing whether temporary access could be provided since plans for a permanent fix seemed not to be coming together, and the family couldn’t drive in or out of the property, JRA said this was not possible due to the sinkhole’s location.

• Read the initial article here: Driveway sinkhole leaves homeowner stranded

“The driveway access is temporarily impacted due to its proximity to the stormwater drain and sinkholes that the teams are attending to,” Gqibitole said.

“Once the repairs are complete, the owner will be able to have full access to the driveway.”

According to JRA, the current work focuses on repairing the stormwater infrastructure, after which the road surface and driveway access will be reinstated.