Johannesburg - Following many complaints about potholes in every suburb of the city, the Joburg Roads Agency (JRA) has announced a two-phase plan to carry out repairs.
The JRA had admitted that its asphalt plant has run out of tar to repair the holes.
Spokesperson Mosa Makhalima said the agency had recorded a total of 19 534 service requests for potholes, 4 223 for patches and 909 for reinstatements. These defects are categorised as “high priority” maintenance issues as they are potential threats to the safety of road users.
The road defects are caused by various factors, including ageing infrastructure and inclement weather conditions.
The first phase entailed a rotational “blitz” approach in regions D, G, and C which was carried out between February 22 and March 21. The scope of work included the cleaning of kerb inlets, road reinstatements and pothole repairs. About 75% of the recorded backlog was reduced in region D and 50% in region G.
The second phase will adopt a citywide approach across all seven regions with an extensive scope including pothole repairs, patching, pavement cleaning, corrugations and collapsed makeshift pipe bridges, and road markings. This phase is scheduled to run until June 30.
“Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the JRA depots have been operating with a third of staff complement. On average, there are six teams per depot, except for the Region D and F depots, which have four teams each.
“As such, normal capacity per depot averages 12 internal teams. With the adjustment to level 1 of the Covid-19 regulations, the number of internal teams will be increased from an average of four to an average of eight per region in the second phase of the plan. To mitigate this capacity shortfall, local emerging contractors per region have been appointed to assist the internal teams. As a result, there will be on an average 16 teams deployed per region,” he said.
To report potholes or follow up on service requests, residents should email: [email protected].
Reporting on social media may delay service requests being attended to, so it is crucial to follow the correct service request procedures.
Website: www.jra.org.za
The Star