SHOCKING CONDITIONS: Potholes cause headaches for motorists and pedestrians in Gonubie, East London. Picture: MARK ANDREWS
BUFFALO City Metro has admitted that some roads in parts of the metro have long passed their design lifespan and needed major reworking.
BCM director of engineering services Nceba Ncunyana said Gonubie was one such area.
“The avenues in Gonubie were designed for low traffic flow but over the years more people have moved into the area and now the roads cannot cope with the load anymore, hence the potholes,” he said.
Ncunyana said in the current financial year they would focus on resurfacing the worst roads in the metro and filling potholes.
Ncunyana said BCM road inspectors would identify areas that needed special attention.
“Internal employees and the public can also identify and report roads that need special attention,” he said.
Ncunyana said BCM has set aside more than R80-million for road works across the metro.
“We have allocated R17-million for urban areas, R6-million for rural areas and R60-million to Mdantsane.”
Picture: MARK ANDREWS
“We are currently working in Amalinda and Station Street in town and after that we will be doing the worse areas,” he said.
Gonubie resident Thea Venter who is an estate agent said she had to avoid certain streets when showing people houses.
“People from out of town come to check out property in East London and I am always embarrassed about the state of our roads,” she said.
“There are streets that I avoid in Gonubie and Cycad Street is one of them because it is bad.”
She said BCM needed to do something about the roads in Gonubie.
Vergenoeg resident Joseph Fredericks said there had been potholes months before the heavy rains.
“You try and avoid a pothole just to land in another one; this is really not acceptable,” he said.
Eureka resident Gary Brown said BCM had been grading their road instead of tarring it.
Westbank resident Sharon Banks also said when driving she often swerved to avoid a pothole only to land in another one. “Everywhere the holes are deep and I’ve ruined both my tyres trying to avoid potholes,” Banks said.
Residents can call the BCM customer care office at (043)705-1749 to report potholes. — poliswap@dispatch.co.za
