The poor quality of the multi-million Rand road project at Mukula, outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo, has raised concerns among some residents. The project was for the rehabilitation of the road between Mukula and Tshidzini.
R45 million was used to fix the road, but it is already showing defects a month after being opened to motorists.
Residents want what they call “shoddy work” to be fixed before the contractor hands over the project to Road Agency Limpopo.
Residents say they are unhappy that the project to rehabilitate the road between Mukula and Tshidzini in Limpopo was not successful. They say the road developed potholes in the first 3 km stretch of the 12 km road even before it was opened to motorists.
The road is said to be bumpy, indicating a lack of proper compaction during the rehabilitation process. The residents have held several meetings with the contractor. They have demanded that the structural defects be rectified before the project is declared complete. They want the contractor to rehabilitate the road for the second time.
“The condition of the road is not proper because it is not so strong. They opened it a month ago, and by this time now it shows some potholes and they are busy patching it. One cannot say he is satisfied more especially if you know the previous road, it was of quality than this one. The other side is lower, the other side is high in some areas, and there are some bumps. There are some defects in that road,” says one of the residents.
Khathutshelo Kone is a taxi driver and travels on the road daily. He expressed his frustration with the poor quality of the road.
“We are using this road to Tshaulu, but it is bad. If you are not careful when driving, you might find yourself outside the road. There is a lot of work that needs to be done we don’t have a road, nothing has been done here.”
Limpopo Department of Public Works, Road and Infrastructure confirmed that structural defects were detected during the inspection and the contractor has been requested to fix them.
Spokesperson Witness Tiva says payment to the contractor will be withheld until quality work is done.
“The agency of the Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure was able to pick structural defects on the road in question in that particular locality and we immediately activated our teams to ensure we put radar on the contractor who is currently doing work in that area. We are going to make sure that we follow all the legislation that is related to our GCC and ensure that the contractor is not paid all the amounts until the structural defects are fixed.”
The project was started at the beginning of the year and was scheduled for completion in October. The contractor could not be reached for comment.
