Times of Eswatini

Mbabane pothole-riddled road fixed

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MBABANE – After the Times SUNDAY published a picture story of some pothole-riddled roads around Mbabane, government jumped into action and fixed the roads.

The publicatio­n took interest in some of the roads leading into the capital city centre, noticing that though some of them were being fixed, others were a danger to motorists. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport sprung into action and fixed the two streets that were highlighte­d.

The stretch next to Nkwalini, close to Mvakwelitj­e, was in a deplorable state and had cut the road to one lane forcing city centre bound traffic to slowly navigate the huge potholes on the opposite lane.

The publicatio­n went for a spot check on the road and discovered that they were now fixed.

Efforts to close the huge erosion threatenin­g to break the road into halves were initiated by the council in the same two-week period. The erosion next to Mbabane Central High School was a threat to motorists since it was also hidden in a thicket growing inside the donga.

CLEARED THE THICKET

The authoritie­s have since cleared the thicket to make the road even more visible to the city centre bound motorists.

Potholes in some roads leading to the capital city centre in Mbabane have become a health hazard for drivers and their vehicles. The donga had become a threat to drivers and pedestrian­s, especially at night since it is very close to the road and has cut the pavement up to the tarmac.

One driver, interviewe­d along the Nkwalini-Hilltop Road said they were happy that the road was finally fixed. He said their main issue as motorists was not just the accident that could have happened on the dilapidate­d road, but the damage of their cars.

The driver, who requested to be anonymous, said they were spending too much money repairing their cars due to the bad state of the road.

“The road was not just a threat to our life but caused a lot of damage to our cars. We are very grateful to government for fixing the potholes and we request for its constant maintenanc­e because it is a very busy road. The road services people coming from different directions including Mhlambanya­tsi, Bhunya and Siphocosin­i. We hope that next time they will not wait for the papers to publish such for them to fix the roads,” said the driver.

An attempt to contact the Ministry of Public Works and Transport Communicat­ions Officer proved futile as he was not available on the mobile phone network.

 ?? ?? BEFORE: A huge donga eroding the tarmac and threatning to cut the road into halves next to Mbabane Central High School. It had overgrown vegetation on it.
BEFORE: A huge donga eroding the tarmac and threatning to cut the road into halves next to Mbabane Central High School. It had overgrown vegetation on it.
 ?? ?? AFTER: The spot where the dangerous potholes were situated along Nkwalini-Hilltop Road.
AFTER: The spot where the dangerous potholes were situated along Nkwalini-Hilltop Road.
 ?? (Pics: Mhlonishwa Motsa) ?? NOW: The thicket has been cleared in preparatio­n to fill-up the donga.
(Pics: Mhlonishwa Motsa) NOW: The thicket has been cleared in preparatio­n to fill-up the donga.
 ?? ?? BEFORE: Motorists had to share one lane on the Nkwalini-Mbabane Road. The potholes (circled) that posed danger to motorists and their cars.
BEFORE: Motorists had to share one lane on the Nkwalini-Mbabane Road. The potholes (circled) that posed danger to motorists and their cars.

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