At a cost of R900 per square meter, the Ekurhuleni metro has repaired 400 of Benoni’s estimated 2 500 reported potholes.
According to Zweli Dlamini, pothole repairs are prioritised according to roads carrying heavy vehicles as well as high traffic volumes.
“The turnaround time for minor roads are 48 hours and 24 hours for strategic roads with a target being set to repair 85% annually,” he said.
“The CoE has 11 Roads and Storm Water depots, with each depot consisting of three teams which are specifically tending to potholes.
Despite the metro’s continued efforts, AfriForum’s Benoni Branch took initiative to independently repair and fill 200 potholes in 18 streets across the city, during the month of July.
According to its district coordinator for the East Rand, Petrus Coetzee, roads and streets such as Kei and Sunnyside streets were prioritised based on complaints received from the community.
“Many roads are in a pathetic condition, because the necessary maintenance and repairs are not done,” said Coetzee.
“Projects like these show that organistations are willing to get their hands dirty and get the work done.”
Achilles Mouyis, chairperson of the Benoni branch continued by saying that residents must all take responsibility for their community, so that the city can be returned to a state that everyone can all be proud of.
Dlamini added that residents are encouraged to continue reporting potholes via the call centre or the metro’s mobile app to ensure that it becomes part of the metro’s database and can be allocated to the relevant local departments.