Gravel roads in Diepsloot soon to be a thing of the past

The announcement was made on 24 June by Member of the Mayoral Committee of Transport, councillor Christine Walters.

“Undertaken by the Johannesburg Roads Agency, at a cost of R34 million, the project is 99 percent complete,” said Walters.

Walters said potholes and uneven roads will soon be history in Diepsloot, adding that motorists would be cruising on smooth surfaces in the immediate future.

The MMC said that first the phase would be completed by the end of the 2014/15 financial year on June 30. She said this would pave the way for a smooth, stress-free and enjoyable driving experience for the township’s motorists.

The project is complemented by asphalt surfacing, conversion of the area’s open stormwater drains into an underground system and the sprucing up of related infrastructure.

Mpho Kau, the agency’s acting managing director, revealed that the second phase of the project was already 60 percent complete.

Implemented at a cost of R33 million, this phase is expected to be completed by the end of December this year. This will bring the total cost of the two projects to R67 million.

Kau said the third phase, which is expected to consolidate work done in the first two phases, is expected to start soon.

“We are already in the process of procuring a professional service provider to tackle this leg of the programme. We will soon also announce the appointment of a consultant to carry out the relevant investigations and design work needed to kick-start the phase,” said Kau.

Situated in northern Johannesburg, the densely populated township of Diepsloot is sometimes jokingly referred to as a ‘community under construction’ due to the number of infrastructure projects being undertaken in the area by both the City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Provincial Government to improve the residents’ quality of life.