Johannesburg - Driving between Koster and Lichtenburg in North West is tough. For residents, this has been a daily experience for the past four years.
This potholed road has not only become a headache to its users, with lives lost and vehicles damaged, but the government has paid millions to companies, with nothing to show for it.
The fourth company to work on the road since 2009 started construction in February and, while there was some noticeable progress, motorists were irritated with three stop-and-go spots.
The provincial Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport has already spent almost R200 million on rehabilitation of the P34/2 Koster-Lichtenburg road.
The original budget for the more than 60km stretch of road was R208m four years ago.
Work on site began 50 months ago.
But on two different occasions, work has stopped completely for an accumulative period of 20 months, stemming from allegations that the tender was awarded irregularly.
The road construction was abandoned for more than a year between October 2011 and February 2013.
Motorists said that, for the better part of the period, there was no one manning the stop-and-go points, and often two cars found themselves facing each other head-on in a single lane, with one having to drive on the gravel, and this had often led to accidents, sometimes fatal ones.
“I have seen at least three fatal accidents which to me were due to road construction over the past few years. I have had several wheel punctures and damaged tyres due to potholes and the rough surface,” said taxi driver Obed Mathuba, who operates between Rustenburg and Mahikeng.
“The Koster-Lichtenburg road is an alternative for most of us because the toll gate between Zeerust and Rustenburg is too expensive.
“This road has been a complete nightmare to drive on and I hope the construction (continues until) completion this time around.”
Another motorist, Kago Malane, echoed this sentiment.
“I understand there is a big fight over tenders here, but why must we suffer over that? Why hold us to ransom because someone is not happy that someone else was awarded a tender and not them?” he asked.
The Star