It’s raining potholes

The Johannesburg Roads Agency has warned motorists of dangerous potholes due to heavy rainfall. “The roads agency is calling on all road users to exercise care and patience when travelling,” said Bertha Peters-Scheepers, spokesperson for the roads agency. “We are on a 24-hour standby, attending to crisis hotspots as reported, in addition to securing potholes.”

Resident, Andrew McMurray is specifically concerned by the potholes on Old Main Pretoria Road in Marlboro. He said the potholes caused traffic jams because motorists had to drive very slowly over the road to protect their cars from being damaged. “This section of road is usually repaired, but it is actually pointless filling the potholes because this whole section of the road needs to be ripped up and re-laid,” said McMurray. “Each heavy rainfall that we have causes the potholes to reappear.”

Coleraine Drive, Ballyclaire Drive, Bryanston Drive, St Audley Road as well as William Nicol Drive are just some of the other roads that have countless potholes.

Skhumbuzo Macozoma, managing director of the roads agency said, “The agency endeavours to attend to potholes immediately when logged. It is our priority to do this well inside the set standard of three days during this rainy period. Wet weather conditions are unfortunately bad for roads in general and road repairs in particular. He added that potholes expanded quicker when it rained and repairs were significantly compromised if carried out when roads were not dry. “The agency will however tackle this challenge and minimise the risks to road users in this regard.”

Details: Johannesburg Roads Agency; 0860 562 874; hotline@jra.org.za or @MyJra on Twitter.

Pop quiz! How many potholes can you find on your street? Facebook us a photo of the biggest pothole you can find and let us get the Johannesburg Roads Agency to address the problem of potholes in our area.

Watch as a car’s wheels are swallowed by the potholes on Ballyclaire Drive in Bryanston: