Heavy rain last week has seen major deterioration on the now dirt road that is the R102 between the Mzimkhulu River bridge and the Rethman Drive traffic lights in Umtentweni.

For beleaguered motorists, it is now worse than seemed possible, although many did raise concerns about the effects the rainy season could have.

Those travelling the road now have to dodge huge sections of massive holes in the road, to the extent that some have said a regular pothole or even a farm road would be preferable.

How any motorist can travel across this road in a regular sedan is something the beggars belief. Even those in SUV type vehicles are feeling the jolts and judders.

One motorist had not one, but two flat tyres. Others have experienced damage to their vehicles as well.

To make matters worse, when conditions are dry, the road becomes extremely dusty, a situation not helped by the speeds at which some drive on this road.

Residents all feel this is an entirely unacceptable situation on what is a very busy and important stretch of road.

Muzi Sithole, the chief director at the Department of Transport, said at a recent stakeholders’ meeting at Ray Nkonyeni Municipality that a new contractor was being sought.

He denied that a new contractor had already been appointed and denied that work would resume in November.

Sithole said he expected work to begin in January next year.

The DoT also confirmed it had terminated its contract with previous contractor Jamjo Civils.

Sithole said Jamjo challenged and disputed the termination and said it wanted to save the project.

The rehabilitation and resurfacing of this section started in May 2025.

No real work on it is obviously evident, other than the tar having being ripped off.

Many questioned why this was even necessary as the road did not appear to be in poor condition overall.

Now, more than a year later, work has effectively ground to a halt, leaving residents, motorists and business owners waiting and wondering when something good will come out of this sorry situation.

* Meanwhile, repair work on the Mzimkhulu River bridge (a completely separate contract run by Yena Uyabusa) is expected to be completed in a week’s time despite the heavy rains.

At the meeting, DoT said 80 percent of the work had been done, but that the tarring has not started and sidewalks were still incomplete.

The DoT was asked when this part of the job would be complete but no response was received.

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