JRA to take over province’s role in fixing traffic lights in Joburg

Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has struck a deal to take over the maintenance and repair of all traffic lights in the city.

The Gauteng Provincial Department of Roads and Transport had previously been in charge of all intersections along the main routes, dissecting the city’s seven municipal regions.

A return to the old agreement

This is a return to an agreement that had stood for over a decade before it was ended in April 2022 over a payment dispute between the entities.

JRA was in a dispute with the South African Revenue Service (Sars) which left them unable to fulfil their obligations to the provincial department.

“After realising JRA’s problems with Sars, the GPDRT had to prioritise road safety and smart mobility in the metro and create internal capacity to maintain its 250 traffic signals,” stated then-MEC for Transport Jacob Mamabolo in May 2022.

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JRA is responsible for just over 2 023 sets of traffic lights at intersections across their jurisdiction, and will now take on an extra 275 on main routes.

These include Winnie Mandela Drive, Beyers Naude Drive, Ontdekkers Road, Chris Hani Road, Hendrik Potgieter Road and the Soweto Highway.

JRA responsible for maintenance

JRA’s function will now include the rebuilding, upgrading and maintenance of signalised intersections along these routes.

Consolidating all traffic lights in Johannesburg under the JRA’s management will streamline repairs, replacements, and maintenance efforts,” stated JRA CEO Zweli Nyathi.

“It is essential to minimise traffic disruptions and inconveniences to road users, thereby promoting smoother mobility throughout the city,” Nyathi added.

The agreement is not believed to affect a community involvement project which was launched at the end of 2024.

“The agreement is a part of a comprehensive plan – “Adopt and Protect A Robot campaign”, GPDRT told The Citizen.

“[This is] a public-private partnership between the provincial government, private sector and local communities seeking to protect traffic signals and streetlights from vandalism, cable theft and criminality,” the entity explained.

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