Roadworks chase away business
A guesthouse in Mill Road has lost a lot of business due to the ongoing roadworks in Inanda Road in Hillcrest.
GOING from a 90 per cent occupancy rate before the Inanda Road road works, to a 60 per cent occupancy rate currently, the Fawncastle Estate in Mill Road Hillcrest is feeling the effects of the ongoing road works.
The owner of the guest house, Rob Hoyle, said his business, and most likely others in the area, are suffering hugely due to the road closures.
“There is no access to Inanda Road via Mill Road at the moment. Once the roadworks have been completed, those travelling from Waterfall towards Hillcrest also won’t be able to turn right into Mill Road.
“Before the closure of Mill Road, we were also informed by the construction company that Mill Road should be re-opened by mid August this year, but it’s still closed.
“People automatically assume the road is closed when they come down Nqutu Road, because the construction company put signage in Nqutu Road that makes it look like Mill Road is completely closed,” Hoyle added.
On Wednesday 17 September a construction worker, while digging at the intersection of Mill and Inanda Roads, lifted and snapped an electricity cable, which had previously been marked by city engineers.
“We had to move nine clients on Wednesday night as we could not do anything without power. We lost R7115 moving our customers to other guest houses. I want to know who is going to reimburse me for my losses.
“The guesthouse employs nine people who depend on it being a success,” Hoyle said.
eThekwini Municipality’s repairs unit worked from 7pm on Wednesday to 5am on Thursday to repair the snapped cable.
Jason Haveman, from Martin East, the company conducting the road works, confirmed that there would be no right turn into Mill Road.
“In terms of the design and feasibility study, the contractor purely gets issued construction drawings that are designed by the consulting engineers and are approved by the Department of Transport.
“We appreciate feedback and constructive criticism from residents as we strive to improve where possible.
“If there is signage that residents feel could be improved and installed, we will look at implementing it. Any services that do get broken are not done maliciously.
“Any residents that send us claims are forwarded to our insurance company for evaluation,” Haveman said.
The upgrade of Inanda Road between Hillcrest and Waterfall is due to be completed in September 2015, weather dependent.
“Mill Road should be opened by December 2014, if not sooner. We apologise for any inconvenience caused during construction and hope the new improved road will make up for the inconvenience caused during construction,” Haveman added.
