Those driving in Nelson Mandela Bay are in for a bumpy ride as they are forced to swerve around cavernous potholes or risk damaging their vehicles.
Though the deplorable state of the city’s roads is bad news for motorists, some mechanics say business has never been better.
Close to 500 potholes have been reported to the municipality since April, but officials believe there are many more.
Potholes and crumbling roads have become yet another challenge for the city, already battling water shortages, load-shedding and vandalism.
And though the municipality has allocated R100m towards the repair and maintenance of roads, motorists, transport companies and public transport operators are in for another shock as tyre prices could spike by up to 41%.
Driving around the Bay you will battle to find a single street not in need of attention.
A Weekend Post team headed out to some of the worst-affected areas this week.
At the intersection of Kempston and Commercial roads, one of the city’s busiest intersections, several large potholes lead up to the crossing.
Vehicles coming down Commercial Road, headed towards the N2, must dodge two deep holes a few metres apart.
Approaching the intersection from Sydenham, there is another hole shortly before the traffic lights, and should you need to turn left towards Korsten and Newton Park, a crumbling section of road is unavoidable.
A woman working at a nearby bakery said workers often got a fright when cars drove through these holes because it sounded like tyres bursting.
“We’ve had people come in here angry because they just damaged their cars.”
In Govan Mbeki Avenue, between Manchester and Lespade streets, a taxi slowed to a crawl as it navigated between a deep pothole and a gaping hole where the grid of a stormwater drain had been removed.
Only half a block back, the same taxi had to swerve around a corner where the asphalt around a manhole cover had been chiselled away.
“All we do is look for holes on the ground,” taxi driver Peter Maqubela said.
In Grahamstown Road, one of the city’s industrial and commercial hubs, a pothole more than a metre in diameter has formed at the intersection of Martin Street.
Around the corner in Millennium Road, small passenger vehicles can no longer use the road because deep ditches have formed across its width.
“The roads are bad, but business is good,” mechanic Pieter Bayley said.
He said in recent weeks several people had walked into the workshop for assistance.
“We’ve had people in here with burst tyres, bent and cracked rims and some badly damaged suspensions.
“These potholes are a menace.
“I always joke that the bad roads keep me in business, but in reality it’s no laughing matter.”
In Newton Street, Newton Park, vehicles take a wide berth around a stormwater drain where the concrete has cracked.
In another part of town, Ward 60 councillor Thembinkosi Mafana visited Markman with a contractor recently and vowed the municipality would repair the damaged roads.
Standing on the corner of Buick and Chrysler streets, where cavernous potholes have been gouged into the tar by trucks, Mafana said the metro would use tri-annual contractor Kayalihle Trading for the job.
“We will probably go for a phased approach, starting with the worst roads.”
The metro has signed tri-annual, or three-year agreements, with seven contractors who tackle jobs across the Bay’s 12 zones.
Mafana said he was aware residents had for years been calling for the municipality to curb pollution and infrastructure damage in Markman, mainly caused by manganese trucks.
He said the metro’s decision to fix the roads flowed from the July 17 swoop by a multiparty task team which resulted in two manganese operators being shut down and fines imposed.
“We saw then that the roads are bad and we knew we had to do something.”
Mafana conceded it was no use launching a repair project if rogue manganese operators and other illegal trucks were not curbed.
“While this repair project is under way, we will be looking to clamp down on these operators.”
Meanwhile, Joe Slovo township roads are so bad, public transport operators have threatened to boycott the area.
Algoa Bus Company CEO Sicelo Duze said recently its concerns went much further than Joe Slovo.
He said many of the metro’s roads were problematic and the company had spent millions repairing tyres, damaged by poor road surfaces.
“It can’t be that for 8km on some roads a bus must drive on [verges] to avoid the huge potholes and pools [of water],” he said.
Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said roads and transport boss Tumie Ranyele would launch a programme next week focused on the improvement of pothole reporting, repair time and quality.
“An improved reporting system will include ward councillor offices which will give us a better reflection of the magnitude of the challenge,” Mniki said.
For the 2022/2023 financial year, R40m was budgeted to resurface roads in all 60 wards of the metro.
An additional R60m has been budgeted for maintenance, which includes material, plant equipment and service providers.
Mniki said pothole repairs had been slow due to challenges with the metro’s supply chain unit.
“Those issues have been resolved.
“The target following the launch will be to fix 150 to 200 potholes a day depending on the size.
“It must also be highlighted that some of the delays are caused by crime in some areas where workers are attacked.”
He said the municipality would have to mobilise security for officials.
Concerns over road conditions are further compounded by suggestions that tyre prices could surge.
This is after the SA Tyre Manufacturers Conference approached the International Trade Administration Commission of SA with a proposal to impose increased tariffs for tyres imported from China.
It claimed the proposed tariff increase would benefit SA tyre manufacturers and protect jobs in the long term.
However, the Tyre Importers’ Association of SA said it would oppose the proposal because a tariff hike could result in prices on popular tyre brands rising by as much as 41%.
This, in turn, could spell disaster for transport companies and the public transport sector.
The owner of a transport company in Sydenham, who declined to be named, said he would not be surprised if several business closed down under the current conditions.
“Imagine you own several taxis or trucks, you have to navigate all the potholes and then you hear your entire fleet’s tyre cost is going to skyrocket, in addition to the fuel prices.
“There’s no way logistics companies can just absorb those costs.
“We could either see massive job losses, or companies closing down.”
Motorists can claim from the municipality should their vehicles be damaged due to poor infrastructure.
To do so, they must submit an affidavit, including the date, time and location of the incident, three quotations, photos of the damage and site, as well as a certificate of vehicle registration to tkeyiki@mandelametro.gov.za and legalrec@mandelametro.gov.za
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