Following the recent heavy rainfall which has left Johannesburg roads in a terrible condition, The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has committed to working 24/7 a week to repair the 12,703 potholes and 37,545 patchings on the city’s roads and some of the 2,114 traffic lights that have been damaged by rain.
Last year, R1.8bn was set aside to upgrade road infrastructure in Johannesburg, with a focus on the M1 and M2 highways and major arteries serving commercial hubs such as Sandton and Rosebank.
“Where roads were fundamentally poorly constructed, the potholes will keep returning, JRA is going to be tough on contractors that did shoddy work”, said JRA’s MD Skhumbuzo Macozoma.
Mr Macozoma said about R23m would be needed to repair potholes and about 887 storm water drains. Repairs and rehabilitation of bridges and culverts would cost about R37m, he said. Nine bridges and culverts had been prioritised in Northriding, Bryanston, Douglasdale, Ivory Park and Sandton.
JRA’s regional operations head Hendrik van Tonder, said work has already started on some of the roads and completion will be determined by the weather conditions.
Mr Macozoma apologises for any inconvenience caused during this construction phase.