Midvaal declares war on potholes
The Midvaal Local Municipality has ramped up efforts to repair damaged roads through its accelerated War on Potholes campaign, targeting both central and outlying areas.
Midvaal Local Municipality (MLM) recently launched an accelerated War on Potholes campaign, marking significant progress in addressing the municipality’s road maintenance backlog. Mayor Peter Teixeira was joined by the Municipal Manager Phumudzo Magodi and councillors to mark the launch.
The campaign seeks to accelerate repairs, patch potholes, and restore Midvaal’s roads to optimal condition following heavy rainfall, which significantly deteriorated road conditions. It is an intensified intervention to address the road maintenance backlog across the municipality.
As part of the campaign, MLM appointed an external contractor who will prioritise outer areas, including Walkerville, Homestead Apple Orchards, Daleside, De Deur, and Walkers Fruit Farms, while internal municipal teams will concentrate on central areas such as Meyerton, Sicelo, Riversdale, and Kookrus.
“This investment will also ensure that teams are equipped with the necessary resources and machinery to improve the overall condition of the road network.”
MLM believes the campaign focuses strongly on supervision and accountability to improve turnaround times and ensure good-quality work. To strengthen oversight, Teixeira has set up a dedicated Roads War Room to track progress and receive regular updates from all teams.
Since the beginning of the project, the roads team has repaired 460 potholes, covering a total area of 346.2 m². The work was carried out across various areas, including Buycelia, Meyerton CBD, Meyerton Ext 4, Glen Donald, Meyerton Farms, and Riversdale. Additionally, the teams successfully graded several roads, including Tonbridge Road in Henley on Klip, Napoleon Road in Kliprivier, and De Wet Road in Buycelia.
“In addition, the Human Resources Department has been tasked with assessing skills gaps and implementing targeted development programmes to strengthen capacity. Businesses operating within Midvaal will be engaged to play their part, particularly those whose heavy-duty trucks contribute to road damage.”
The municipality established a dedicated email address for residents to report road-related issues: waronpotholes@midvaal.gov.za, with an official being assigned to monitor these reports and ensure they are escalated to the relevant departments.
