Rustenburg – Motorists travelling on the R566 road linking Gauteng and the Sun City resort in North West will no longer have to navigate potholes on the road.
The Pothole Patrol would repair potholes on the road leading to Sun City from the N4 highway in Majakaneng.
The Pothole Patrol is a partnership between the City of Johannesburg, Discovery Insure and Dialdirect Insurance. In its first year alone, it repaired over 100 000 potholes in Johannesburg.
For the first time, the initiative has moved outside of Johannesburg to repair the numerous potholes along the 75km stretch of the R556 leading to Sun City.
The R556 is the shortest route to the Sun City resort and motorists have long expressed concern about the number of potholes they have to dodge.
North West Public Works and Roads MEC Gaoage Oageng Molapisi said the North West Province was grateful for the patching of potholes on the R566.
“Good roads attract business to an area. Gauteng is a very important market source for our province, but travellers want to know that they can reach their destination safely.
“Similarly, conference and event organisers are disinclined to plan workshops and conferences at venues with poor road infrastructure. The province is therefore extremely thankful for the work carried out,” Molapisi said at the launch of the project.
“We appreciate the collaboration between the private sector and government. The government cannot do it alone,” he said.
Brett Hoppé, general manager at Sun City said the resort was popular, but people will go elsewhere if they could not travel safely to the resort.
“Sun City is enormously popular but as much as people want to visit our resort, if there is a chance their tyres or vehicles can be damaged by travelling here, then they will simply go elsewhere.
“So, we as Sun City are deeply grateful for the work that has been done, and we know it will ultimately translate into jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for the entire region.”
Claims data collected by Discovery Insurance reveals a 26 percent reduction in pothole-related claims in Johannesburg in the first year of the Pothole Patrol.
This was significant when compared with the 45 percent increase in claims across the rest of Gauteng for the same period.
“Badly maintained tyres and rims are a leading cause of car accidents in South Africa. Our initiative is helping to reduce the frequency and severity of road accidents across the city for insured and uninsured drivers alike,” said Anneli Retief, head of Dialdirect Insurance.
Head of strategy at Discovery Insure, Kgodiso Mokonyane, said the Pothole Patrol demonstrates their continued support for the United Nations Road-Safety strategy titled “A Partnership for Safer Journeys”.
“This now means that our initiative to repair potholes on the stretch of road between Sun City and Johannesburg will result in safer roads for all road users,” Mokonyane said.
IOL