A total of 48% of Johannesburg’s roads are not up to par, with 21% (about 2 500 kilometres) needing construction to ensure they are structurally sound. A further 27% (about 3 000 kilometres) need to be resurfaced.
Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) managing director, Sean Phillips, pointed out that it cost between R4.5 million and R6 million per kilometre to construct a new two-way road in an urban area. Furthermore, upgrading from gravel to tar costs R4m per km and resurfacing can go up to R1.2m per km.
“If regular maintenance is not carried out, then its life reduces rapidly. Many roads in Jo’burg have not been regularly maintained and have therefore passed their reduced design lives,” he said.
He added that the JRA would need R1.38 billion per year for the next ten years to get the roads back up to scratch. However, the budget for the 2016/17 financial year for resurfacing and reconstruction was only R262 million.
