Durban - 183 428 potholes across parts of the country have been fixed since the launch of operation Vala Zonke, according to the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL).
This was stated during the 7th South African Roads Federation (SARF) Regional Conference for Africa in Cape Town, which runs from Tuesday to Thursday.
Leading experts in the industry and decision-makers descended on the mother City ahead of the conference, which has put South Africa’s roads in the spotlight, subsequently, its poor history when it comes to maintenance and repair.
According to SANRAL, the lack of maintenance has increased the repair costs by 18 times if a full rehabilitation of a road is deemed necessary.
Depending on the size, It currently costs between R700 and R1 500 per square kilometre to fix one pothole.
Operation Vala Zonke was launched by the National Department of Transport, and has been widely touted by Transport Minister, Fikile ‘Mr Fix it’ Mbalula.
Mbalula has been lambasted by private and civil organisations for his lack of foresight and pro-activeness, when it comes to maintaining SA roads.
In the 10 weeks since its inception, Vala Zonke statistics show that a little under 200 000 potholes have been filled.
112 699 potholes in Johannesburg were fixed, 28 578 in the North West, 25 431 in Limpopo and 16 540 in the Free State.
IOL has asked SANRAL for the number of potholes fixed in KwaZulu-Natal and is awaiting that figure.
Former SANRAL president, Mutshutshu Nxumalo said that despite the country’s road infrastructure being one of its biggest assets, only 5% of the national fiscus was allocated to it, touting political interference.
He said the results of poor maintenance was “far-reaching and disastrous”, which has a snowball effect on public safety, tourism numbers and more claims from the Road Accident Fund.
“SANRAL is doing good work, but they can’t do it on their own. There is an imbalance between the understanding of what needs to be achieved and the political will. We have legislation, but the wrong leadership.
“Our roads go through their lifespan without maintenance which eventually leads to bigger problems. Our potholes, specifically, are caused by a delay in the response to fixing them timeously,” Nxumalo said.
Professor Philip Paige-Green, from Tshwane University’s Engineering Department, said that if potholes aren’t fixed properly, they will not last.
He cited the importance of noting situational contexts when repairing potholes.
“What no one seemed to notice is that there was lush green grass right next to the road, which meant there was a water source. This is not rocket science, it should be clear to understand that any filling of potholes here wouldn’t work without taking care of the water source,” Paige-Green added.
IOL