The monster pothole near the railway line, takes up about half the southbound lane.
It’s more than a metre wide and 20 to 30 centimetres deep, yet the metro hasn’t taken any action to close it.
It has left many drivers with flat tyres, busted fibreglass bumpers and headlights.
After receiving complaints from several motorists who drove over the chasm filled with water, this journalist visited the site on Sunday evening.
Lucky Aphane had to deal with extensive tyre damage after his Polo Vivo crossed the nasty pothole. He was travelling with his family members on Sunday evening, when he hit the pothole – damaging both his left tyres.
The incident left Aphane and his family stranded on the side of the road.
A few moments later, the unsuspecting driver of a Corsa Lite, Mashudu Matodzi, drove over the same pothole.
Matodzi was headed to Spruitview with his wife and their two children (twins) at that stage.
Both his left tyres exploded in blow outs, leaving his family also stranded on the kerbside.
While busy replacing one of the damaged tyres, Matodzi said he noticed many other drivers damaging their cars and nearly causing accidents.
“The driver of a van hit the pothole and his car nearly tipped over…he didn’t have a choice, because the safest path to avert the oncoming traffic was where the pothole is.
“His car slightly veered onto the wrong side of the road and almost hit an oncoming truck.”
The Advertiser visited the area again on Tuesday afternoon and noticed that the pothole is still not secured or repaired.
Vehicles approaching the lane with the huge pothole, were seen making emergency stops to avoid driving through it.
Others swerved right in an attempt to avoid the death trap, nearly bumping into oncoming cars.
According to Jeffrey Maluleke, who lives nearby, the monster pothole is causing serious problems for drivers.
He claims that it has been there for at least four weeks and the recent rain has made it longer and deeper.
Maluleke mentioned that it also causes traffic congestion, as it restricts the free flow of vehicles during peak hours.
He estimates that about 10 cars per day sustain flat tyres, after hitting the pothole at maximum ‘residential speed’.
“This pothole has damaged many cars since it appeared about a month ago – and it’s just not safe for the drivers at night because the place is very dark.
“I saw many cars that almost got into accidents. Sometimes I can hear vehicles hit the pothole from inside my shack, with the doors and windows closed at night,” said Maluleke.
Maluleke added he saw metro crews inspecting the hole a few days ago and he thought they were getting ready to shut down the lane and patch up the hazard – but it’s still not fixed.
Some residents suggested that in the meantime, the metro should put up signage to warn drivers, so the same thing doesn’t happen to many drivers who are not familiar with the area.
Another resident living nearby, said he’d also seen the damage caused by hole and he suggested that the metro uses traffic cones sitting around the hole to block off the northbound lane.
