Heavy downpours of rain have caused severe damage to the many deteriorating roads in Trichardt. So much so that the old Bethal Road began caving in at the bridge on the left-hand emergency lane from Trichardt town heading towards the scrapyard.
GMM’s Mayor Nhlakanipho Zuma was joined by the MEC for Public Works, Roads and Transport, Thulasizwe Thomo, on January 8 to assess the damage on the road.
Upon investigating this stretch of road and many other roads in the Trichardt area, the Ridge Times spoke to businesses and residents on their view of the poor condition of the roads in Trichardt, even before the heavy rainfall. Many say the extent of damage could have been lesser had regular and proper road repair and maintenance been done.
Henri Truter and Clinton Muller travel on the old Bethal Road daily for work and say the stretch of road had been deteriorating for around a year.
“Cracks and holes had already been forming before and now the road is collapsing on the one side. The roads are falling apart,” said Truter.
Truter said many abnormal load trucks using the roads in Trichardt contribute to the deteriorating conditions.
Muller said: “There had been attempts of patching with tar but it did not work.”
Further up in town at the intersection of Barney Molokwane and Vincent Tshabalala Street by the Overland bottle store, the Govan Mbeki Municipality (GMM) previously dug up the road to repair a water leak.
The road was closed up with gravel. Now, with the heavy rain, the gravel has been washing away, and motorists are having to dodge the holes forming by driving in the opposite lane.
What is of greater concern are ambulance services having to keep patients as stable as possible when driving this road to get to the Mediclinic Highveld Hospital.
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Over the years, a local property owner has been using his own resources and manpower to lay bricks at the lower part of Vincent Tshabalala Street to make this road more accessible for not only his tenants but also other residents in the area.
The Ridge Times had done an article on this very stretch of road that was affected by previous heavy rains in April 2021. With every year’s heavy downpour of rain, the bricks are washed away and the property owner once again replaces this.
When speaking to one of the workers laying the bricks his response was: “The roads here are f***** up.” A resident at one of the complexes said that is now even a challenge having to drive on the pavement.
“I have no other word but disgusting. We can’t get out of our driveways. The stormwater drain always overflows and water levels get so deep you can ride a boat through here,” said the resident.
She said even a 4×4 bakkie has its challenges in navigating through the deteriorating road. Further up the Ridge Times spoke to a salesman from a car dealership who said the deteriorating roads can cause serious damage to vehicle suspension.
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He said that besides the damage to vehicles, the stormwater and sewerage drains system overflows into the streets.
“This is a serious health risk. With every heavy rain, the sewerage drains overflow,” said the salesman.
The salesman pointed out to the road on Richter Street with one huge pothole stretching from the left lane to the right-hand lane. The road is starting to sink at the pavement side.
“People live here, they need to drive these roads to get to their homes. Even with a bakkie, you will struggle through these roads,” said the salesman.
In response to media enquiries, GMM’s spokesman Donald Green mentioned the visit by the MEC and that an assessment was conducted of the damages.
“We are committed to ensuring that our response teams are mobilised to carry out the necessary repairs promptly and efficiently,” said Green.
He said that due to the high number of municipal roads that need to be restored and the lack of funds for this purpose, this project is covering some of the damaged roads.
“The Govan Mbeki Municipality has been hard at work intensifying interventions aimed at addressing challenges relating to road infrastructure, focusing on patching of potholes, road resurfacing programmes, and cleaning stormwater in Trichardt,” said Green.
He highlighted that road resurfacing was conducted in a portion of Ebrahim Daya Street. “In addition to the above, the municipality has prioritised the patching of potholes in residential and business areas,” said Green.
Maintenance of stormwater was done in the following areas to prevent flooding and damage to roads:
• Carolus Street stormwater system.
• Next to taxi rank stormwater system.
• Paul Kruger Street stormwater system.
The MEC’s visit can be viewed on GMM’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/dpwrtmp
