Austin Road in Glen Austin left in shambles as it’s allegedly not graded and maintained regularly
Austin Road is about 2km long but its so narrow that even two cars cannot pass each other simultaneously.
A Glen Austin resident has had to endure the untarred Austin Road since they first moved into the area about 32 years ago.
And it looks like the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) has no plans to tar the road.
To this day, the road has allegedly not been properly maintained by the JRA according to a concerned resident Belynda Nauschutz.
The road is about 2km long that connects to Olifantsfontein and George roads. It was so narrow that even two cars cannot pass each other simultaneously, and it is lined with holes, tree roots and oaklip.
Speaking to the paper on July 5, she said the road is not being regularly maintained and as a result, it has not been user-friendly.
Nauschutz said the last time the road was graded was around late summer, late February, just before autumn. Since then her quests to have the road graded have fallen on deaf ears.
Her attempts to have the road graded started on April 25, but to this day, her query has not been attended despite being allocated a reference number on April 28 – three days late. Nauschutz has since sent a series of emails seen by the paper.
“The road is in terrible condition, and we can barely drive on it. It has still not been graded and is in an even worse condition now since the previous rain. We can barely drive on the road at the moment. How long and how many more emails do I need to send to you people to get this done?” asked Nauschutz.
However, the agency’s spokesperson Bertha Peter-Scheepers said they graded the road in the first quarter of the past 2022/2023 financial year.
She said they will be returning to complete the areas that were still outstanding.
Asked if there are plans to have the road tarred instead of grading it, Peters- Scheepers said, “At this stage, JRA has no plans to upgrade the tar road. Concerning how often the road gets graded and maintained, the road gets graded once every quarter. Apart from regrading, JRA will also be conducting any necessary work to bring the road into a drivable condition.”
The grading process will commence on July 11.
Related article:
Johannesburg Roads Agency to meet with Glen Austin community about Austin Road
