Residents demand quick Amarant Street gabion fix
The damage has raised flooding fears among residents, and they question what will happen when the rainy season begins.
Residents in Weltevreden Park have warned of an escalating flood and safety risk near Amarant Street, where stormwater infrastructure continues to deteriorate despite repeated reports to municipal authorities.
The RiverWel Residents Association (RWRA) says a severely damaged gabion retaining wall near Amarant Street Park, particularly along Dolfhout Street, is close to structural failure and could cause serious damage if it collapses.
RWRA chairperson Newton Kemp said residents have reported the problem several times without success.
“The situation has now deteriorated to a point where an imminent structural failure is anticipated,” he said.
According to Newton, a collapse could destroy part of Dolfhout Road and is likely to pull down a critical underground electricity cable. He added that the instability could also cause damage to Harpuis Road.
In response to the risk of flooding, volunteers from the RWRA Green Team have cleared building rubble and debris from bridges near Cockspur Road and Without Street. Newton said the work was done to prevent blockages and reduce pressure on the stormwater system.
“This essential maintenance was performed to ensure the bridges do not fail and that water can flow freely,” he said.
However, Newton stressed that community volunteers cannot deal with major engineering failures.
“Our volunteers are stepping in to perform basic municipal duties to protect our community, but we cannot address major engineering failures like the gabion wall,” he said.
Concerns about flooding near Amarant Street are not new. In August, residents warned that gabions along the stormwater channel at Amarant Street Park had been badly damaged during heavy rainfall in December 2023 and had not been repaired.
In October, residents again expressed concern as the rainy season approached, saying erosion along the channel was continuing and that roads and infrastructure remained at risk.
In that report, the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) acting head of planning, Mpho Maruping, confirmed the agency was aware of the problem and said it had been placed on a priority list, with repairs dependent on funding and risk prioritisation.
Newton said the RWRA has exhausted standard reporting channels. “The continued inaction is irresponsible and places residents and infrastructure at direct risk,” he said.
The RWRA has called on the JRA and relevant City of Johannesburg departments to meet with community representatives for a walkabout inspection along Amarant, Dolfhout and Cockspur.
Questions about investigations into the collapse, delays, and when repairs can be expected have been sent to JRA, but no response has been received yet at the time of publication.
