The infamous R57 in the Free State, which is one of the province’s most pothole-riddled roads, is being attended to by the provincial Department of Police, Roads and Transport. The MEC, William Bulwane, launched a project to repair potholes on Monday (08/08).
The road is memorable with fatalities. Last yearin December, 14 people parishdied on this road after two minibus taxis collided head-on along outside Reitz. Three passengers managed to survive,d, however but with severe injuries sustained during the crash.
Efforts to fix the pothole-fraught road followed serious concerns regarding the provincial government’s failure to maintain roads, leading to the appalling condition of road surfaces.
Overgrown natural vegetation blocking road signs also attests to the neglect of maintenance. Furthermore, road signs and surface markings are invisible on most of the regional roads, making night driving a major risk. As road maintenance plummets to the lowest level in a decade, concerns are that little to no effort has been made to address this.
According to the department, the contractor appointed to repair potholes was expected to start work on Thursday (10/08), focusing on the stretch between Vaalpark and Sasolburg. The pothole-patching programme is set to cover various roads across the provinceto improve the state of roads.
The department announced that work to eradicate potholes would be undertaken with municipalities and other stakeholders to ensure all affected roads were identified and repaired.
In February, during the state of the province address, Premier Sisi Ntombela announced expenditure of more than R1 billion on the revival of the province’s road infrastructure. She said the money was set aside for work on at least 15 roads that interlink Free State towns. Among the provincial roads to be upgraded are those between Tweespruit and Hobhouse (R709); Bloemhof and Hoopstad; Bethlehem, Fouriesburg and Ladybrand (on the Maloti Route, R26); as well as between Senekal, Rosendal and Ficksburg.
Conflicting with the ambitious announcement, it was reported that R45,2 million in road grants had been taken back by National Treasury following a decision by the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana.
