Ward 92 councillor concedes Dale Road trench needs ‘urgent attention
Both entities (JRA and JW) were asked whose responsibility is it to fix an alleged burst water pipe that creates the trench on Dale Road but had not responded at the time going to print.
A trench on Dale Road in Glen Austin is causing major traffic disruptions and has been there for over a month since Midrand Reporter spotted it.
The paper noticed the trench towards the end of June and is apparently caused by a burst water pipe. It covers a partial portion of the road just before Hampton Road – and potholes are now developing.
The trench covers almost one lane of the road and is cordoned off with tape. On the other side of the lane, there is concrete that fills the edge of the road to allow on-coming cars to pass. It is not clear who might have filled the side of the lane with concrete.
Dale Road carries a huge traffic volume with motorists travelling from Kaalfontein, Ebony Park, Glen Austin and Allandale to Midrand and Pretoria.
According to Ward 92 councillor Charmaine Ngoepe, she had engaged with officials from the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) and Johannesburg Water (JW) about the issue.
“The burst pipe is believed to be belonging to Ekurhuleni Metro. So, there is a back-and-forth between the city and Ekurhuleni but whatever the case might be, it must not affect the residents. We were supposed to do an oversight there on [August 16],” she said.
The Reporter sent a media query to JRA and JW on August 8 and gave them a deadline of August 21 to respond. Both utilities were asked if they were aware of the said trench and what plans were there to fix it. Also, whose responsibility it was to fix the allegedly burst water pipe that was creating the trench, and if indeed it was true that the burst pipe on that road belonged to Ekurhuleni Metro.
JRA’s Lucia Mhlanga confirmed receiving our query the same day and said, “We hereby acknowledge your email. Please note that we will respond per your deadline.” No response was received, and the paper sent a follow-up email on August 21. Mhlanga confirmed, “Noted. We will get back to you soonest.”
On August 21 at 19:38, Nolwazi Dhlamini of JW responded and said, “Apologies for the late response. I saw your email today. Just wasn’t able to respond. I’ve responded now asking for the reference number so that the depot can easily trace the logged call.”
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