BUFFALO City Metro is planning to spend R15.6-million to fix potholes and maintain the city’s decaying road infrastructure.
As a result, the Daily Dispatch has from today revived the “Fill ’em Up” campaign, in which members of the public can report a pothole when they spot one.
Over the past few months, the paper has fielded a number of calls from readers complaining about potholes on roads they use.
BCM spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya said the city’s engineering department had responded to calls about the growing number of potholes by developing an internal response programme involving the allocation of teams to undertake maintenance and repair work in specific areas.
Ngwenya said the team would rotate and spend a week at various locations around the city repairing potholes.
“We are giving an undertaking that each pothole reported will be attended to and filled within seven working days of reporting,” he said.
But he warned that weather conditions and unavailability of material from suppliers could affect the time it took to carry out the repairs.
“The two recent floods in the city, the municipal strike and closing times of the main supplier of material are some of the factors that have led to an increase in potholes in the city,” he said.
Ngwenya added that the metro faced challenges in the age of the road infrastructure. Roads were designed to have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years. In areas like Gonubie, roads had been designed for low traffic volume and some needed to be rebuilt.
“This is not the first partnership we have undertaken with the Daily Dispatch,” he said. “We are optimistic that this will prove to be as successful as the previous ones.”
Ngwenya said the city was calling on the public to participate in uplifting communities by reporting potholes. “It is vital for these potholes to be filled so that we can boost tourism , investment and the economy,” he added.
A contact centre has been set up for pothole reports. People can leave voice-mails after hours.
The contact numbers are:
(043)705-9220/9223 (coastal; East London and surrounding areas);
(043)705-9850 (midlands/Mdantsane);
l(040)654-0305 (inland from Berlin upwards, including Bhisho and King William’s Town).
