A very concerned resident in Fourways writes:
I was sad to notice yesterday [10 May] that Jodan Construction has now started tearing up the surface of Witkoppen Road (using a road recycling machine) around the intersection with Douglas Drive.
This is in addition to the already chaotic upgrades that leave no sidewalks and serious traffic backlogs along large sections of Witkoppen and Cedar Roads, as well as the full length of Fourways Boulevard and Uranium Road throughout the day and late into every evening.
Surely something can be done to force Jodan Construction to stagger some of this work? As it is the same construction company doing everything, they certainly cannot claim ignorance of the other work planned in the area.
READ Fourways Mall finally addresses traffic worries
People are losing their tempers as other road users drive along the few remaining pavements and islands or block up intersections, preventing their fellow road users from crossing when the lights are in their favour. The Outsurance pointsmen are amazing, but are only on duty during peak hours, leaving traffic queues from Cedar Road to well past Douglas Drive during the rest of the daylight hours.
Unless something is done to stagger these roadworks, someone is likely to lose their life in a serious road rage incident. Fourways traffic is punishing enough when there are no roadworks. To subject those of use who both live and work around the mall to this kind of chaos is unconscionable. My commute between home and work has gone from 10 minutes to well over an hour. I cannot imagine what those who have to make it all the way to the Sandton CBD and back must be enduring.
Jodan may take the attitude that ‘you need to break some eggs to make an omelette’ – but there are reasonable and unreasonable levels to take this to. The mall upgrade will not be finished for many months, so why the pressure to do all the road upgrades at once? Jodan have signs up to road users saying ‘Please don’t kill us’, but at the moment they are seriously tempting some short-tempered drivers to knock over one of their workers or run over someone who is trying to walk home along a congested road with no sidewalk.
I truly hope that the ‘eggs’ Jodan are breaking do not turn out to be the lives and families of those who have to work and travel through this each day.
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