‘Life-threatening’ N10 pothole road reported to Sanral | Rhewal

Potholes on the N10 (Photo provided by the DA)

The Democratic Alliance has reported the controversial N10 pothole road to the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral).

“The amount of vehicles, especially trucks transporting manganese, has increased and this national road has become a life-threatening place,” says Kobus Botha, DA member in the Eastern Cape portfolio committee on transport. “The road surface has deteriorated and is full of potholes. Motorists are forced to swerve in front of oncoming traffic or suffer catastrophic damage to their vehicles.”

Botha says roads are to the province’s economy what arteries are to the heart.

“Large parts of the N10 between Cradock and Nelson Mandela Bay have weakened a lot. Potholes on the road between Kookhuis and Paterson are life-threatening.”

The roads have lost their thickness and often suffer surface damage when not constantly maintained. This reduces the lifespan of the roads, he adds. “The deterioration is made worse by the heavy trucks.”

Botha requested Sanral to intervene urgently to repair the N10 and requested an indication regarding the budget and time frame to carry out the repair work.

“They also escalated the problem to the DA’s shadow minister of transport, Chris Hunsinger, to raise the issue on a national level.”

The DA requests those involved in the transport of manganese to be more considerate, consider other road users and obey the road rules at all times.

“The government must think creatively to tackle the challenges we are facing. This includes public/private partnerships, where private companies can be appointed to solve the problem of potholes.”

Botha says new technology should also be considered such as plastic roads which are used in the DA-led Kouga municipality. “This innovative solution requires much less maintenance and reuses tons of plastic waste that would otherwise end up in the landfill.”

He says if the roads are more usable when potholes are repaired and proper maintenance is done, fatal accidents and damage to vehicles will decrease.

“If these challenges are not tackled, it will cause the provincial economy to deteriorate further. Roads are essential for economic activity.”