It’s been almost two months since Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) dug up the tar for resurfacing a section of Republic Road in President Park AH but has not completed the job.
This was according to resident Yvette Page.
The busy road which is full of potholes was to be resurfaced as part of JRA’s A Re Sebetseng blitz aimed at tackling poor infrastructure in Region A and was launched by Transport MMC Funzela Ngobeni.
However, after removing about 120m of the road’s old surface, JRA had apparently halted the work.
Page claimed that the dug-up tar had been left on the side of the road not far from her and other residents’ driveway gates.
She said the pile of rubble could be used by criminals to hide behind and ambush residents when they were trying to open the gates of their homes.
“It is very frustrating that traffic piles up [during peak hours and] we can’t get into the road from our driveway because motorists and taxi drivers drive all over the road to avoid potholes.” She added motorists could also damage their vehicles due to the number of potholes on the road.
In response to Page’s claims, JRA spokesperson Mosa Makhalima said the road was never neglected. “There were misunderstandings between the [JRA] workers and the community [community members wanting to work on the road themselves] causing delays in the fixing of the [Republic] Road,” claimed Makhalima.
She said the road would be resurfaced by September 2 but when Midrand Reporter visited the site on September 4, the road had not been resurfaced and the piles of old tar had not been removed.
Related article:
