DEAR Editor,-
I have lost count of the number of times people have complained about Sugar Mill Road. Instead of getting better, the situation is steadily getting worse, with no sign of anything at all being done to remedy problems.
Many people are affected by the condition of this road, none more so than the residents who live on this road, who have to dodge potholes all the way to town and back every day. I didn’t drive for six weeks and when I took to the road again, all the old familiar potholes were there, plus six weeks’ worth of new potholes making the drive a nightmare.
It is common to see vehicles driving for long stretches on the wrong side of the road to avoid the really bad potholes on their side of the road. This is a disaster waiting to happen. The dust that hangs over the valley is thick, thanks to the continuous stream of vehicles and the dust is killing the vegetation.
We were told that the road would be fixed in February this year. Nothing happened. We were then assured the road was earmarked for resurfacing in July. We are still waiting and it is nearly the end of the year. In the meantime, the Roads Department ripped up long stretches of road, completely destroying any remaining tar and then left – never to be seen again. The road now has bad sections of tar as well as horrific stretches of pitted gravel, which disintegrates daily and becomes a dangerous slide when it rains.
What is difficult to understand is that besides carrying people from Louisiana and outlying districts, there is a lot of traffic, large trucks and dozens of taxis on account of it being a main route into Port Shepstone. Besides all this local traffic, this is the main road into Port Shepstone from the N2. What must people make of this entry into our town? It is a complete disgrace and should never have been allowed to deteriorate the way it has.
Aside from the condition of the road itself, the verges and bush have been allowed to grow into the road. At the bottom of the hill running out of town to Spiller’s Wharf, the verge bushes are so thick that any oncoming traffic is completely obscured, thus hampering preventative measures when people cut the corner as they often do. It is dangerous for the many pedestrians, as they are forced to walk in the road.
With the holiday season around the corner, is it not possible for the HCM cleansing and maintenance to at least come and clear the dangerous verges for us? The road is beyond redemption and will probably be allowed to deteriorate unchecked, but at least something can be done about the dense bushes that need cutting.
DISILLUSIONED
Port Shepstone
