Bitumen is an oil-based, semi-liquid substance which is used in the production of tar for road surface construction, and it was in short supply as all refineries were undergoing routine maintenance.
The agency’s acting managing director, Mpho Kau said the availability of bitumen was good news for service delivery.
“The countrywide temporary shortage of bitumen hampered JRA’s road resurfacing programme and the patching of roads,” Kau said. During this period, pothole repairs were not affected as a cold mix is used for this purpose.
“Specifically, the vigorous citywide roads resurfacing programme will be resumed as part of the JRA’s commitment to enhancing the quality of roads within [Joburg],” he said.
The agency has improved the quality of the city’s roads in the past financial year through the road resurfacing, rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes, and more than R300 million was spent on resurfacing 675km of roads in seven regions.
Kau said 439km of road would be resurfaced in the 2015/16 financial year at a budgeted amount of R221 million. Additionally, R140 million had been set aside for road rehabilitation and reconstruction across the seven regions of the city in the 2015/16 financial year.
The agency has been allocated an operating budget of R943 million and a capital budget of R1.4 billion to advance the road infrastructure development within the city.
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