Hole, ‘an accident waiting to happen’

IRATE motorists have slammed the Sol Plaatje Municipality for apparently ignoring a massive hole in the road in one of the city’s busiest streets, resulting in a potentially dangerous situation and “an accident waiting to happen”. The hole, where the tar has essentially fallen away and the foundation of the road has collapsed, is on the corner of Black and Long streets in Kimberley.

“This must be one of the busiest streets in Kimberley and is now also one of the most dangerous. This hole has been there for weeks already but it is growing daily - it is already encroaching about a meter into the road and if it is not fixed soon, it will take over almost the entire one lane.”

Resources

The resident pointed out that the municipality had the resources to force a local business to remove the flags outside its premises because “it was, according to them, obstructing motorists’ visibility but ignores a collapsed tar road in such a busy street, which presents a far greater danger to road users”.

Municipal spokesperson, Sello Matsie, said yesterday that the municipality’s road maintenance team started working on the hole in Long Street yesterday morning.

“They have demarcated and protected the area so that they can excavate.”

He added that the hole was caused by a surface collapse as a result of a water pipe repair.