William Nicol Drive ‘most treacherous road’ in Joburg

Sandton’s William Nicol Drive, has been named the ‘most treacherous road’ in the city.

This was according to the Pothole Patrol initiative that recently celebrated one year with over 28 000 reported and over 100 000 potholes repaired.

The initiative, launched in May last year, is the result of a collaboration between the city, Discovery Insure and Dial Direct to help maintain the city’s roads infrastructure.

At the time of launch, the city’s road’s entity, the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) was recording a significant backlog that it was unable to keep up with. The role of the Pothole Patrol was not to replace the JRA but rather assist it.

In its one-year round-up, the initiative recorded over 4 400 potholes repaired in Sandton alone. High numbers of reports came from William Nicol Drive, where 155 potholes were repaired, and Jan Smuts Avenue, where 110 potholes were repaired.

While Executive Mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse commended how successful the project was after just one year, the ward councillors on the ground have questioned its effectiveness in dealing with the backlog.

According to Ward 90 councillor Martin Williams, while 947 potholes were reported in his ward, 425 were duplicates and only 102 were repaired by the Pothole Patrol. An estimated 105 were allocated to the JRA for completion.

“I am disappointed [as] the overall combined effect of the Pothole Patrol and the JRA in Ward 90 has not been enough to counter negative perceptions and comments which I encounter daily.”

He added that with over 100 000 potholes reportedly repaired across 135 wards, if evenly distributed, that would be 740 potholes per ward.

“The 102 potholes repaired in Ward 90 fall somewhat short of the average. No ward councillor could be satisfied with the state of the roads in Ward 90, certainly residents who complain to me are not happy.”

Williams noted that one of the problems with the initiative is the absence of any clear means of escalation or oversight.

“Residents and councillors must log [the call] and hope for the best, all relying on an impersonal email address to follow up on queries.”

Ward 103 councillor Lynda Shackelford noted that given the state of the roads in her ward, it will take time to see any type of improvement.

“The roads are not in the best state in Ward 103, there are numerous roads that need patching not just the pothole repairs. The high level of ground water has also not helped this situation.”

Related articles:

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/279434/the-battle-against-potholes-continues/

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/293776/pothole-patrols-return-to-the-city-after-10-years/