The sinkhole in Miles Stoker Road. Photo: Screengrab of video.
A road in Roodepoort on the West Rand has been due to a sinkhole which has developed on the road surface.
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) on Wednesday closed one lane of Miles Stoker Road in the Roodepoort direction with immediate effect.
“The sinkhole developed because of illegal mining activity in the area, including tunnelling beneath the road surface,” the JRA said.
“For safety reasons, the northbound carriageway along Miles Stoker Road, between Main Reef Road and Roodepoort, is temporarily closed.
“Traffic is diverted onto the southbound carriageway until further notice. Additional closures may be introduced to ensure safety of the public,” the JRA said.
A number of sinkholes have affected road surfaces across the country.
In January 2023, The Citizen reported that multiple roads were still closed around Centurion months after various sinkholes formed due to heavy rainfall.
Sinkholes also formed in other areas, including Khutsong and Rustenburg among other areas.
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Lecturer in geographic engineering at the University of Cape Town Lita Nolutshungu said backfilling, grouting and dynamic compaction could be used to repair the sinkhole.
“Sinkholes occur when the ground surface collapses, exposing underlying cavities of varying sizes and at different depths. The formation of these holes is caused by numerous factors.
“In the South African context, it is mainly attributed to subsidence and dolomitic bedrock which is dissolved by a weak carbonic acid formed when rainwater takes up carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and soil,” she explained.
Nolutshungu said naturally occurring geohazard was exacerbated by ingress of water, poorly managed surface water or drawdown of groundwater.
“The drawdown removes groundwater from cavities within the bedrock or soil layer above the groundwater level (the overburden), resulting in subsurface erosion.
“It leads to headward erosion ultimately resulting in the surface collapsing, forming sinkholes which can reach diameters of 125 meters and depths of 50 meters,” she said.
Meanwhile, in July the City of Johannesburg was rocked by massive gas explosion that overturned minibus taxis and destroyed sections of Bree Street and Rissik Street.
One person was killed and 48 other injured in the blast.
Additional reporting by Marizka Coetzer
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