The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) launched its infrastructure protection unit yesterday with the mandate to protect traffic signals and investigate theft.
The JRA partnered with the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) to launch the new division.
The unit has identified intersections prone to cable theft and vandalism, report online news sources, and officials will monitor them to ensure that repairs are made and technical issues are solved as quickly as possible.
The agency says the ultimate goal of the unit will be to increase productivity by reducing the amount of time motorists spend on the roads.
JRA head of performance monitoring and evaluation, Dr Sean Phillips, was quoted by Eye Witness News as saying that 18 members of the new unit would be solely tasked with investigating the theft of infrastructure.
“The theft of the copper cables relating to the traffic lights is one of the major causes of traffic light downtime in the City of Johannesburg,” he said.
JRA expects to have completed the installation of its remote monitoring system by next month.
