Crisis on South Africa’s Roads
by Nick van der Leek
Some weeks ago I wrote about the state of roads in Bloemfontein. I wondered what the rest of the country was experiencing. In the last 12 days I cycled over 800km on secondary roads. Almost all of it, at least 700km, was badly marked roads riddled with potholes. I’ve seen roads in Tanzania and Zimbabwe that make those roads look bad.
On the other hand, when we drove from Nelspruit to Bloemfontein, mostly on Tollroads, there wasn’t a pothole in sight. What’s going on? The government has budgeted funds towards road maintenance. I’d like to suggest an investigation be launched to see what projects are in the pipeline, and to audit the funds that have been made available.
Plenty of the cyclists on our tour punctured and broke their spokes, not because of thorns or glass, but against the volcanic lips of broken tar. If these gashes can cause so much damage to a bicycle, motorists ought to be concerned. And they are, as a recent article shows in The Star (Do holes in the road reflect holes in the system?).
One of the reasons behind our fast deteriorating roads is, believe it or not, bad weather. This year rain has been much heavier than usual. A road becomes like tissue paper when wet for long periods. It tears a lot more easily.
I have seen potholes near Piet Retief that are big enough to sit in. These may well become deathtraps for drivers traveling at night, in rain, or simply not concentrating while driving.
The Johannesburg Road Agency estimates that the cost of repairing a pothole is about R400. Since we’re not driving our way to better weather, someone needs to grab some treasure and get busy plugging up the holes we’re leaving behind on our way forward.
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