Vow to win war on potholes in Nelson Mandela Bay by December

Not a single pothole in Nelson Mandela Bay by December.

That is the promise by roads and transport portfolio head Rosie Daaminds as she launched a multimillion-rand pothole project in Bethelsdorp on Tuesday.

Daaminds said during lockdown, it became abundantly clear that they had to declare a war on potholes in the city.

“We are launching this project here in Ward 27 but it does not mean nothing is happening in other areas.

“It has been rolled out in all wards, because seeing from the everyday media reports the entire city is full of potholes, we are here today to declare a war on potholes,” Daaminds said.

She said they had given themselves three months to finish the project but said regular maintenance of the roads would continue after that.

“We are not only concentrating on potholes we are also looking at our storm water drains and our channels, there’s now work being done on cleaning channels so the water can flow.”

Daaminds said the budget for the project was R11.5m .

She said they had appointed two big contractors and 23 small contractors and that SMMEs would also benefit through work in Uitenhage, Motherwell and four other wards.

“We experience and see the frustrations of our motorists and residents and we want to apologise for the delay but the project could not be implemented during recent months as a result of Covid-19 regulations.”

Daaminds said they would also be working with the infrastructure and engineering department to fast track the repair of leaks as they also contributed to damage to the roads.

“But the major cause of potholes is the heavyweight trucks moving through our roads daily but also the leaks be it fresh water, sewerage or drain leaks that creates a lot of damage and potholes in the city.”

She said they would be working with  ward councillors who will submit a list of the areas where there are problems as well as working through a list of complaints providing by motorists.

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