A combination of ageing infrastructure and flooding is to blame for the number of gaping holes on some of Durban’s busiest roads.
This is according to the City’s head of communications, Lindiwe Khuzwayo.
In the last week, at least three unsuspecting drivers have driven into holes in Umbilo Road and Peter Mokaba (Ridge) Road.
At the weekend, a Mini Cooper landed in a hole near 535 Peter Mokaba Road. A second vehicle, this time a Mercedes-Benz ended up in a hole on the same road.
Only days ago, a VW driver escaped unharmed after driving into a hole in Umbilo Road in Durban.
At the time, Jamieson said emergency teams arrived to find that a vehicle crashed into an open hole filled with water where men were doing construction work for the past few weeks.
“The driver was assessed and fortunately did not sustain any injuries,” Jamieson said.
“What you see as a roads problem is actually a water and sanitation problem. A combination of the age of our water and sanitation infrastructure and floods has resulted in many underground leaks/blockages. To fix these the road needs to be excavated,” Khuzwayo told IOL.
She said the excavations in Peter Mokaba and Umgeni roads were dug up to stop water leaks.
Khuzwayo said sometimes, when the repair was not finished, the crews barricaded and left it open so that they could finish the job.
“In some instances finishing the repair takes longer than it should and barricades that were put in place deteriorate and render the road unsafe. The teams began over the weekend to close excavations to prevent further incidents. In addition to closing the excavations, where there as been a dereliction of duty the City manager has been clear that the necessary corrective action must take place,” she said.
Meanwhile, councillor Imtiaz Syed, of the Active Citizens Coalition, said there were 1 130 reports of bursts and leaks in the city’s wards 25, 27 and 31 from January 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023.
In responding to Syed’s questions on water and sanitation, the City said there were 69 pipe bursts and leaks reported in Peter Mokaba and St Thomas roads.
It said there were 140 contracted plumbers to attend to burst pipes and leaks but because of budget constraints, the number was reduced to 78.
Syed said the department was ill-equipped to tackle the issue.
IOL