City of Johannesburg fixed 117 483 potholes over the past year, resulting in an increase of 26 945 or 22 per cent more pothole repairs compared to the 2015/2016 period.
The city’s MMC of transport Clr Nonhlanhla Makhuba said repairs were prioritised following several torrential downpours between November 2016 and January 2017 which damaged roads across the city and caused a proliferation of potholes.
The executive mayor, Clr Herman Mashaba, declared war on potholes and committed an additional R88-million to fast-track the repair of failing road surfaces.
“I am delighted to confirm that through our positive interventions, the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), the City’s entity responsible for the maintenance of our roads has resolved the crisis by working overtime on evenings and weekends, utilizing R60 million for much needed pothole repair material and equipment.
“The funds were also utilized in appointing contractors to supplement internal capacity to assist with the backlog. Added to this, R28 million has been provided to recruit the 40 per cent JRA road maintenance staff capacity shortages,” said Mashaba.
He said JRA was not keeping up with increased service requests for pothole repairs following heavy rains, but the interventions have enabled the situation to be stabilised prior to the interventions.
Makhuba said while the interventions have made a progressive impact on the quality of roads and public safety, pothole repairs are a short-term fix to ensure the safety of all road users.
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