TRICHARDT – It is spine-chilling for residents in Van Belkum and Vincent Tshabalala Street in Trichardt to access or leave their properties by vehicle, due to the appalling state of the gravel roads.
Residents have reached out to the Ridge Times in a desperate plea for something to be done.
According to several residents, Govan Mbeki Municipality is well aware of the poor conditions of this stretch of gravel road.
Property owners have resorted to putting down sandbags and rocks, however, all this effort is done in vain when the next rain falls and everything gets washed away. The potholes get bigger and are now irreparable.
“Every year it is like this. The residents try to fix up where we can but we are just not winning,” said an angry resident.
According to the resident, the last time the road was graded, was three years ago.
“The municipality used to grade this road on an annual basis after the rainy season, however over the past couple of years they have not been seen. This road is now at its worst, we can not leave our property without damaging our vehicles.
“We have to be so careful with our vehicles, you can’t even drive up here in a bakkie.”
Ms La-Rochelle Geel was not so lucky when pulling into her driveway with a bakkie.
The bumper on Ms Geel’s vehicle was damaged when it went through a deep ditch between the pavement and part of the road where the gravel had been washed away by heavy rains.
“I am in the process of claiming from GMM for damages done to my vehicles.
“There is no safe way to access this road without damaging your vehicle, it is bad,” said Ms Geel.
Another long-time resident said the road used to be tarred.
The tar was allegedly dug up to repair potholes, but then it was just left like that and the street is now a gravel road. A couple of property owners have resorted to laying down bricks in front of their complexes and properties.
At the top of Van Belkum Street, a local property owner used his resources and manpower to lay bricks to make this road more accessible for his tenants.
When speaking to his workers, they told the Ridge Times the owner also erected signs prohibiting buses from using this route.
However, bus drivers turn a blind eye to these signs and proceed on the already dilapidated road to access the highway instead of using the main roads.
In Vincent Tshabalala Street another property owner’s employees were hard at work laying bricks and repairing damage caused by heavy rain the previous night.
This property owner bore the brunt of the storm.
The damage from the stormwater was so bad that drain pipes could be seen from the way the gravel had washed away between the pavement and road.
Mr Donald Green, acting head of communications for GMM, said that the potholes, road repairs, resurfacing and grading of gravel roads remain a priority for GMM and will be given the necessary attention.
“Several of these roads were mostly affected by the recent heavy rains. These roads are being attended in phases depending on the availability of the budget,” said Mr Green.
He used the example of roads in Trichardt that have been fixed recently such as Rapportryer Street, Bekker Street and Grey Street which were resurfaced in February.
“People can lodge a claim against the municipality for loss or damage suffered from driving through a pothole on municipal roads.
“But the lodging of a claim does not necessarily mean the claim would be settled. Each claim is assessed on its merits.”
The municipality will need evidence that the damage was the result of a pothole.
“The findings of the investigation will reveal facts surrounding the incident and serve as the basis of paying or rejecting a claim,” concluded Mr Green.
