A TRENCH left unsealed by municipal workers after fixing a burst pipe is now a daily frustration for residents and businesses along Tomango Road in Merebank. 

The repair work, completed weeks ago, has not been followed up with proper resurfacing of the road.

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As a result, the one section of the two-way lane has become a major safety hazard, especially as heavy trucks continue to drive through it, further widening the hole and damaging the road surface.

Ward 68 DA PR councillor Sithembiso Ngema said motorists are now forced to use a single lane to avoid the damaged section, leading to congestion and delays, particularly during peak hours.

Ngema said local business owners said customer access has been affected, while residents are raising concerns about vehicle damage and poor municipal planning.

Community members are now calling on the municipality to urgently tar the trench before the situation worsens, warning that continued neglect could lead to even more costly repairs and public safety risks.

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“Three weeks ago there was a water outage due to a burst pipe which took eThekwini Municipality more than three days to fix and people were left without water. After the broken pipe was fixed they back-covered with sand and never came back to put the crusher and tar. The worse thing is that there are big trucks coming in and out of the Illovo factory there and now there is a big hole open again there. This can cause a serious accident and also this is dangerous to the motorists as they are now using the single lane,” said Ngema.

Ngema said residents have raised concerns in the past about the municipality leaving trenches untarred after fixing either a burst pipe or underground cables.

“There appears to be a lack of effective communication between the engineering and storm water departments within eThekwini Municipality. After repairing a damaged water pipe, it is essential for the storm water department to notify the engineering department that the work has been completed. However, in many cases, the engineering department remains unaware of the completed repairs due to delays or failures in communication from the storm water department,” he said.

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