‘R530 road is a serious risk to motorists’

This is according to the Democratic Alliance (DA) which has written to the Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) to urgently address the state of the road. “Besides residents and workers of the surrounding areas using the road for their daily commute, it is also used by farmers transporting produce and large trucks moving goods to and from the mines,” said Risham Maharaj, DA Limpopo spokesperson for public works, roads and infrastructure.

He said the road has been poorly maintained and is riddled with large potholes that have the potential to cause accidents. “The failure to fix it presents a serious safety risk to motorists who use it. Many cars have already been badly damaged.”

Maharaj said RAL has previously intervened and repaired the road, but residents pointed out that inconsistent maintenance of the road and damage caused by large mining vehicles in the area is the main cause that the road is in a constantly bad state.

He claims that in 2019 there were already claims worth over R118 million against the Limpopo Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure as well as its entity, the RAL. “These were largely for damage caused by potholes and for claims against the department’s register,” he said. “The failure to maintain the road is unacceptable because it is key to encouraging economic activity and the accessibility of services in the area. It should be a catalyst for job creation and driving local economic development – particularly for the historically disadvantaged members of our society.

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“RAL was partly established for the purpose of driving the province’s economic development but has failed to consistently provide services to the people of Limpopo. RAL must engage with the mines in the area that uses the road and finds a solution on ways to cooperate with each other in maintaining that road to the benefit of residents and the area’s economic activities.”

The Herald contacted the Limpopo Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure spokesperson, Witness Tiva on the allegations made. He said the department regards the letter written by the DA to RAL as a cheap political stance as processes to maintain the road have already started. “The road in question is on the list of projects we are finalising the designs of.” He said they are busy borrowing pit investigations to reduce the cost of maintenance.

“This is one of the roads that are on the priority list as it links the busy R40 and R36 roads. The other challenge is that it carries heavy traffic volumes, mainly trucks, and this dictates to us that we must use quality material that will stand the pressure on the road hence we doing proper designs and borrow pit investigations. At this point the department is unable to give specific time lines for the actual construction work to start, as we are still at the final stages of designs,” he said.