JOBURG – The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has announced that they are having bitumen shortages, which disrupts road resurfacing, and patching up of potholes around the city. Bitumen is an oil based, semi-liquid used in the production of the asphalt mix for road surface construction. Acting managing director for the JRA, Mpho Kau said that the shortage of bitumen is due to refineries currently undergoing a shut down for maintenance and repair work, which led the JRA asphalt plant to stop production.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused by the matter,” Kau said, adding that operations are expected to resume by 10 August. However, he pointed out that already two refineries have indicated that operations will resume very early on in August. Kau added the bitumen shortage was a nationwide problem. In the meantime a cobalt mixture would be used as a temporary solution to cover up certain potholes that pose a danger to pedestrians and motorists.
He encouraged residents to continue phoning in on their hotline to report potholes, which would be attended to as soon as the bitumen problem was resolved. “We rely on the public to inform us of potholes and traffic lights that have stopped working, and we resolve to do our best at all times,” he said.
Details: Johannesburg Roads Agency hotline@jra.org.za, 086 056 2874.
