Joburg Roads Agency’s regional teams have devised an action plan to tackle the backlog of road-related defects across the city, with special attention to storm water infrastructure as we continue to have intermittent rainfall.
The areas of concern are those with low-lying bridges such as in regions A, C and G, as they are more likely to result in serious flooding which poses a safety hazard to residents, read a statement released by the City of Johannesburg.
“While the JRA continues to carry out the maintenance of road infrastructure, keeping storm water drains clean and safe requires collaborative effort. Small acts of accountability and responsibility help a great deal to mitigate the problem of blocked drains,” said the City.
The City also noted that in the recent months, the country had experienced heavy rains which resulted in many flooded roads across the city. As part of JRA’s general maintenance routine, the cleaning of storm water drains was a top priority in ensuring that the city’s road infrastructure was safe and useable for our communities.
“The JRA’s proactive maintenance plan, ahead of the rainy season, includes unblocking kerb inlets, reinstating collapsed drain covers and skofelling of weeds around the kerbs to ensure easy flow of rainwater into the drains,” added the City.
The City concluded by stating that the cleaning of drains included the removal of small and large items and substances such as silt or sand that had fallen from trucks, small vehicle parts, and other refuse including plastic and bottles. In many cases, a jet vac machine would be required to retrieve items that cannot be cleared out through manpower.
The City urges communities to refrain from disposing of refuse and other unsuitable items into storm water drains and to report all storm water infrastructure defects via Twitter, Facebook, Customer contact centre: 0860 562 874 and email hotline@jra.org.za
