Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba took to the streets to wage war on potholes when he participated in repairing Mulele Street in Ivory Park and Old Pretoria Road in Midrand on 28 March.
Mashaba said this was part of the R88-million mayoral intervention to address the pothole repair backlog in the city. He said that although we needed the heavy rains that have been experienced in the province, they have damaged the roads which has caused a massive backlog for the city.
A contractor has been appointed to assist with the repair of potholes while additional staff members are being recruited. “Together with the Johannesburg Roads Agency, we are committed to improving mobility within the city, through the provision of safe roads and infrastructure networks,” said Mashaba.
As part of the initiative, a citywide inspection will be carried out in accordance with the use of Johannesburg Roads Agency’s Visual Condition Index (VCI) criteria every two years, to enable the scientific prioritisation of roads for construction and resurfacing.
“As an interim solution, roads that have deteriorated, but do not meet the VCI criteria for prioritisation within the available funding, will undergo routine maintenance,” he added.
A programme of tarring gravel roads in Doornkop, Lawley, Mayibuye, Tshepisong, Protea South and Ivory Park has been initiated.
Mashaba said he would reveal the channelling of additional money to be injected into infrastructure in his budget speech to be delivered on 30 March.
Edited by Stacey Woensdregt
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