The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has embarked on a R100m road resurfacing project.
The city-wide programme is designed to maintain roads at regular intervals to reach their 25-year life span. The city has 12 480.47km of tarred roads, while 1 119km still need to be tarred. Timeframes for when they will be tarred are unknown.
In Ward 93 in Sunninghill, 500m of Van der Bijl Avenue and Rivonia Road and 350m of Edison Crescent have been resurfaced.
According to the JRA, surveys are conducted every three years to determine which roads and bridges need attention. Calls logged by community members are also taken into account. All the maintenance is done by the internal teams, not outsourced contractors.
JRA also shared that factors like theft and vandalism, heavy vehicle overload, and natural elements like rain and extreme heat contribute to the deterioration of roads and infrastructure.
The Fourways monitor for Randburg United Local Long Distance Taxi Association (RULLDTA), Thabane Qwabe, commended the efforts made by JRA and thinks it is a positive start. “We are happy that we did see some of the problematic roads being attended to,” said Qwabe.
“The most challenging thing for us on the roads is having to change tyres more often due to unavoidable potholes that keep getting worse. We take our hats off to the JRA for having projects like these in places where we need the service the most. We hope to see more such projects so we can have safer roads for everyone,” he added.
Local motorist Jacque Sinclair added, “At least they are doing something about the state of the roads, they are a nightmare I can tell you that much. “Also, when resurfacing, they must do something about the drains that are on the roads – they become potholes themselves by being lower than the new surfaces.”
Ward 93 councillor Vino Reddy shared, “I have been complaining about the roads to the JRA. They did a wonderful job at Van der Bijl Avenue. “I hope we can have more of these programmes. Most of our roads need pothole maintenance.”
Fourways Review took to the streets to ask road users how they felt about the JRA’s resurfacing project in the area.
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