Councillor questions R18.5m cost as Pretoria Avenue project misses deadline
Ward 91 councillor Andrew Stewart says residents deserve clear timelines and full accountability for the Katherine Street and Pretoria Avenue project.
The delayed reopening of the Pretoria Avenue and Katherine Street intersection has now raised fresh concerns about project costs, with Ward 91 councillor Andrew Stewart questioning how the budget escalated to R18.5m.
The intersection did not reopen by its planned February 6 completion date, and construction work continues.
Read more: Pretoria Avenue and Katherine Street intersection misses deadline
Stewart visited the site on February 18 to assess the progress and expressed frustration over what he described as a lack of firm timelines.
“We are still not being given permanent set time frames for when the road is going to be opened. We are not being given time frames that we can hold people to.”
While contractors have returned to the site in recent days, Stewart said visible progress has been seen.
Beyond the delays, the councillor said his focus has now shifted to the project’s cost.<
@caxtonjoburgnorth Ward 91 councillor Andrew Stewart says residents deserve clear timelines and full accountability of the cost to upgrade the intersection on February 18, 2026 in Sandown. video: Duduzile Khumalo #Ward91 #Sandton ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North
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He confirmed that he received a written response in council stating that R18.5m has been spent on the project to date.
Stewart said he has information suggesting that the project’s scope initially started at a significantly lower amount before increasing over time.
“In my written response, they are claiming that the original scope of this project was always R18.5m, which I find quite dubious.”
Also read: Uncertainty persists over the completion of the Pretoria Avenue and Katherine Street upgrade
Stewart said his next step will be to formally request a detailed breakdown of the expenditure.
“I will be asking for a line-by-line account of how that R18.5m was spent so that we can properly hold those responsible to account and ensure residents have received value for money.”
We sent questions to Johannesburg Roads Agency to confirm the completion deadline and also to confirm the cost of this project.
We will provide an update once we receive a comment.
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