Re-surfacing work long past deadline
A patchwork job has been done to the potholes on the P236 near Ubombo.
UBOMBO residents’ ongoing battle for vital maintenance to the P236 has yielded little in the way of results and almost no communication from the Department of Transport.
The only route into Ubombo and to Bethesda Hospital, re-surfacing and widening of this provincial road was due to start in June.
A patchwork job has been done to the potholes, some of which are now as high from the surface of the road as the holes were deep.
Residents say each hole is filled with sand and closed up with a thin layer of tar. As a result, most patched potholes are springing leaks, leaving the road in almost as bad a state as before work began.
In a telephone interview, Bongani Ndaba, Project Manager for the Department of Transport in KwaZulu-Natal, said, ‘The design work has been done and the project is currently out to tender.’
Ndaba went on to acknowledge delays in the work, due to contractor issues, but scheduled re-surfacing work is due to begin mid-October.
Owing to budget constraints, the initial 6km stretch of the P236 will be re-surfaced this financial year, while the remainder will be done next year. Ndaba confirmed the filling in of potholes is a temporary measure to provide a more drivable surface in the run-up to main the job.
