Tshwane’s road crisis deepens amid potholes and sinkholes

There is concern about the state of the roads in the City of Tshwane, with more rainfall predicted for the rest of the week as more potholes form, raising worries about more sinkholes forming in Centurion.

Previous weeklong rain caused not only localised flooding and a tornado, but also the formation of three sinkholes in Centurion and potholes popping up as the rain continued.

Over the weekend, DA ward 85 councillor Jacqui Uys, along with volunteers, filled potholes on Kosmos Road from Swaardlelie to Verkenner.

Potholes filled over the weekend

Uys said Kosmos Road was one of two roads that carries traffic to Willow Ridge High School and had been posing a problem for parents dropping their children.

“We have taken the approach to fill potholes as a community because the city does not have asphalt. The way the city fills the potholes results in them opening up after the first rains,” she said.

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“A total of 17 DA volunteers offered their time and spent five hours on Saturday to save our pupils from accidents due to potholes. The DA branch donated Roadsaver material (a pothole patch solution) and volunteers fixed potholes on Kosmos Road, from Swaardlelie to Verkenner.

Uys said some of the holes could not be filled because they were not deep enough, but all the deep holes had been fixed.

Lyttleton councillor Johan van Buuren said he had a long list of potholes, besides the sinkholes, following the heavy downpours.

Potholes and sinkholes after heavy downpours

Van Buuren said he was flooded with complaints of potholes forming in his area, especially when it rained.

“From the middle of January, no pothole has been fixed in my ward. Potholes are a big headache and we get many complaints from motorists who damage their cars when it’s raining because the holes are covered and with lights not working, they don’t see them.

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Another issue in his ward was sinkholes – two formed following the rains.

“The average cost to repair a sinkhole is about R30 million, but it varies from hole to hole,” he said.

Van Buuren said there were eight sinkholes in the ward, including the two that formed after previous downpours on the corner of Trichardt and Van Riebeeck streets in Lyttleton and one on DF Malan Road.

Sinkhole could worsen

Van Buuren said there were signs that the sinkhole at the corner of Trichardt and Van Riebeeck streets could worsen.

City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said there were no emergency funds allocated for sinkholes.

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“The long-term plan is to upgrade all the ageing wet services, especially water pipes, to dolomitic standards to minimise the occurrences of leaks and potential sinkhole formation,” he said.

Mashigo said the newly formed sinkhole in Lyttleton was due to a combination of internal stormwater drainage and a water leak.

“The main causes of the sinkholes are leaking water pipes. However, sinkholes also occur due to leaking sewer and stormwater pipes, ponding of surface water and leaking irrigation pipes,” he said.

Mashigo said there were 61 potholes recorded on the city’s priority list and most of them were caused by heavy rain.

61 potholes on city priority list

“The heavy downpours always have an impact on our road infrastructure. Our teams from the seven regions attend to these potholes as and when they occur,” he said.

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