In April 2022, a sinkhole formed on the outer edge of the busy John Vorster Drive in Centurion, Gauteng which was immediately addressed by the relevant roads authority through the closure of one lane on the dual carriageway and the erection of temporary barriers.
In December 2022, the roads agency closed off an entire block in preparation for building a “crossover” which funnels traffic from the one dual carriageway, across the separator, into the other oncoming dual carriageway.
In the final week of June 2023, it completed the construction of the “crossover” effectively turning both roads into single lanes for about 200 metres. This has alleviated traffic buildup around the sinkhole, but has not solved it.
During all this time, the sinkhole itself remained untouched, except for some digging being done and a chainlink fence being built around it.
In February 2023, about 5km away from the John Vorster sinkhole, another one formed on Main Road, Irene which the relevant agency again responded to by closing off the entire through-road which is used by over 20,000 commuters a day.
Seeing the state of sinkholes in the surrounding area that have been left untended for years, citizens of the Irene suburb took action and banded together to donate money and get the road into usable shape once more.
The total sum needed was in the realm of R448,000, the Irene Landowners Association (ILA) told Pretoria Rekord, but the amount raised surpassed R477,000.
By the end of April 2023, Main Road was usable once again thanks to the efforts of these Irene inhabitants.
Main Road, Irene sinkhole
TopAuto reached out to the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport for comment on why the John Vorster sinkhole was sidestepped with a new road instead of being repaired.
The department promptly confirmed via email that it forwarded the questions to the Tshwane Municipality, stating that this is under whose jurisdiction the particular piece of tarmac falls.
After following up with the municipality, it did not acknowledge the questions nor provide comment by the requested deadline.
No budget for repairs
Speaking to Rekord, Centurion ward councilor Gert Visser said there is a limited budget for sinkhole repairs in the Tshwane area.
Before, the municipal account allocated R30 million per year to sinkhole repairs, but following the approval of a new budget in May, the municipality now only has R15 million to spend on fixing sinkholes in a given year.
Considering the prevalence of sinkholes in the Centurion vicinity due to the dolomite-rich land upon which it lays, the real amount needed to repair all of them is around R90 million, said Visser.
This has led to several delays in getting rid of these dangerous hazards, with one example being the sinkhole that formed along the N1 freeway near the Flying Saucer Interchange in January 2022.
This particular sinkhole is on one of the busiest roads in the country and falls under the National Roads Agency’s scope.
The project has suffered several delays, such as the opening, closing, and re-opening of the tender for repairs, and the projected date for when it will be fully complete is no earlier than April 2024 – 26 months after it appeared – if, and only if, all goes to plan.
N1 sinkhole February 2023
Constrained budgets are a common theme relating to basic service delivery in South Africa, which has led to several privately-funded initiatives that do the jobs government departments fail to perform.
One such initiative is Discovery Insure’s Pothole Patrol, which has repaired over 175,000 potholes in the Gauteng province since May 2021 that were left by the authorities to wreak havoc on the vehicles driving over them.
Even citizens have started taking road repairs into their own hands, using rocks and other materials to fill up potholes. However, these individuals were warned by the Johannesburg Roads Agency that they are breaking the law by doing this and asked to stop.
Discovery estimates that among the many dangers on the country’s roads, just potholes alone cost motorists over R500 million per year in damages which is expected to continue going up if no preventative actions are taken.
John Vorster Sinkhole – June 2023
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