Pretoria - The City of Tshwane will definitely need to jack-up its budget for addressing potholes as new sinkholes keep developing while the City is still addressing old ones.
This is according to the acting Chief of Staff Jordan Griffin after the City closed off John Vorster Drive for fear that a sinkhole in the area may expand and pose serious danger to motorists and pedestrians.
The area was barricaded on Saturday.
The City had a budget of R28 million for more than 40 sinkholes across Tshwane.
Most of the sinkholes are in the Centurion area due to its natural geological state of the ground.
Griffin said: "This is a recurring issue that is becoming deeply problematic. Sinkholes are mostly found in Centurion because in most parts of Centurion, construction is taking place over what is called dolomitic land.
“Dolomite is a type of rock that dissolves over time with water. So with heavy rains and with Centurion also being low-lying the ground holds a lot of water, so over time it corroded the dolomitic land and caused it to collapse, which is what is driving these sinkholes.
"In the coming financial year the City is going to have to budget more for sinkhole repairs.
“Unfortunately repairing sinkholes is not as easy as pouring sand into the hole. It has to be properly re-enforced, but often when you have just repaired one then another area can fall in as well. It really is one of our most important policy and infrastructure challenges."
Just recently, the City was forced to close the Pierre van Ryneveld Nature Area in Centurion, following the discovery of a sinkhole in the area.
Before that, the Gauteng Department of Roads and Logistics was forced to partially close off Weirda Road, also in Centurion, to keep vehicles from driving on the bridge that crosses the N14 highway.
According to the City, sinkhole repair work usually takes up to 9 months to complete on average due to the very large extent, bulk earthworks and specialised repair methods.
Pretoria News