Potholes on Susman Avenue are an accident waiting to happen as motorists have to swerve into the opposite lane to avoid damaging their cars.
Harold Fleishman, co-chair of Blairgowrie Community Association said the potholes had been there for at least 15 months.
“Potholes are a major problem in the area, especially when they are on the main roads like Susman Avenue and Standard Drive. They are reported very often by residents but with little or no response from entities. We would like Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) to do their job and complete the repairs to the potholes and reinstatements.”
Other potholes reported in Blairgowrie include Willis Road and Harris Avenue.
JRA’s acting head of regional operations Khaya Gqibitole said they were aware of the potholes on Susman Avenue. An inspection was carried out at the site and it was established it was an excavation by Joburg Water to repair a pipe.
“We currently have a backlog of reinstatements which are addressed through a regional reinstatement blitz. The reinstatement in Blairgowrie on Susman Avenue is scheduled to be done on June 17.”
He added the normal turn-around time for reinstatements was 14 days, however, the closure of excavated sites was dependent on the completion of work by the service entity or per the terms and conditions of the wayleave, depending on the scale of work to be undertaken.
Explaining the process before the potholes and reinstatements are done, he said the entity manages reinstatements through wayleave agreements and processes that were in line with the Public Road and Miscellaneous By-laws.
“This is a formal approval granted to service entities to carry out their work. Thereafter, the JRA reinstates the affected road or sidewalk. Service entities, like Joburg Water, need to submit a work order to the JRA. A work order indicates that Joburg Water has concluded its infrastructure repairs and serves as a request to the JRA to reinstate the road.
“The JRA’s routine maintenance addresses potholes and reinstatements every day. Currently, the JRA has inherited a backlog of 3 000 reinstatements following a new Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Joburg Water. With the number of emergency repairs undertaken by Joburg Water, the backlog continues to increase.”
There is an ongoing reinstatement blitz that is rolled out regionally. In each region, the JRA maintenance team is capacitated by an additional team from another depot. JRA has also appointed six contractors to supplement the in-house capacity.
JRA undertakes road reinstatement blitz to restore Joburg’s excavated roads
JRA has intensified efforts to reinstate roads that have been dug up across the city through a regional blitz programme aimed at speedily restoring affected roads and improving the overall road safety for motorists and pedestrians.
The blitz model, which entails capacitating JRA’s regional teams with contractors, will run concurrently with the day-to-day maintenance programme and will not impact other road-related services.
Road reinstatement is the work undertaken to restore a section of the road reserve or sidewalk to its original or better state following excavations by service entities to work on underground infrastructure such as sewer and water pipes, fibre cables, gas pipelines, etc.
Most of the JRA’s current reinstatement backlog is due to Joburg Water (JW) excavations for maintenance and emergency works as these occur daily. Previously, JRA and JW signed an SLA in which JW was granted a blanket wayleave to undertake road reinstatement works. Residents would then escalate all JW excavations and reinstatement queries to the water entity. However, a new SLA was concluded in 2023 reverting the reinstatement function to JRA.
Acting CEO for the JRA Zweli Nyathi welcomed the reinstatement blitz.
“In the coming weeks and months road users will see a significant improvement in the road network, as the teams will tackle a backlog of excavations across all seven Joburg regions.
“It is important to highlight that this backlog is a moving target as roads are excavated daily for emergency works such as burst water pipes. However, with the increased capacity and resources through the blitz programme, JRA will be able to fast-track reinstatements, which normally take between 1 to 14 days.”
The reinstatement blitz programme started in Region F on April 15 and proceeded to regions B, E and G on April 22. The programme is implemented on a weekly rotation basis between the various regions.
Related articles: Bank Road Residents Association holds successful clean-up
Tips to navigate and avoid flooded roads
