Honeydew CPF rescues motorists with emergency pothole repair
Massive hole on Christiaan de Wet Road left cars with severe damage
Unchecked danger can have a domino effect of calamity.
With the carnage of burst tyres and damaged rims leaving vehicles stricken on the side of the road, members of the Honeydew Community Policing Forum (CPF) proved their resilient versatility. A large crater had began to form in the right-hand lane of Christiaan de Wet Road headed towards the Rinyani Road intersection, prompting the community custodians to spring to action.
The CPF had received several calls on Friday evening, April 22, about the increasingly dangerous hazard with more calls coming in on the Saturday morning.
“Last night we found about five cars that hit a very bad pothole. This morning we received two calls seconds apart advising us that seven cars were standing on the side of the road, all with blown-out tyres,” recalled CPF PRO Michael Steyn.
Contact was made with the Chamberlains outlet on Jim Fouche Road who graciously donated roughly 275kg of cold tar to the cause. Using their big electronic displays to divert motorists, CPF members safely controlled traffic and the renegade repairmen began their work. Previous attempts at a makeshift repair had been done, so the padded sand needed to be scraped out before the tar could be applied.
The hole, which was over a metre in length and growing to be equally wide, swallowed nine of the bags of tar, a weight of almost 250kg worth of black filler. Passing commuters got a glimpse of an improvisational pyrotechnic show as the repairmen set the tar on fire in order to set it. As second hole closer to the Rinyani Road intersection was beginning to show signs of similar expansion, so the CPF used the remaining tar to plug that gap.
“We want to firstly thank Chamberlains Strubens Valley for assisting the community with the tar. This is definitely showing us that you care and give back to residents in the area. Secondly to the patrollers who came out to do the job, keep up the good work,” stated Michael.
As eyes and ear of the community, the CPF’s patrols are an invaluable asset in safeguarding the area’s well-being.
