Pothole Patrol is on a roll!

ONE hundred thousand. That’s the staggering number of potholes that have been repaired by the Pothole Patrol on Joburg’s roads in the past year.

This week the patrol released information on the progress they’ve made since their launch a year ago.

The figures come as no surprise as the number of potholes continues to rise in Johannesburg.

Out of the 100 000 potholes that were repaired, 4 400 were reported in Sandton alone.

The report released by the Pothole Patrol, a partnership between the City of Johannesburg (COJ), Discovery Insure and Dial Direct insurance, also showed that Roodepoort has the most number of potholes, while William Nicol has been labelled the most treacherous road in Joburg.

A staggering 155 potholes were reported in William Nicol Drive in the past year, 110 potholes in Jan Smuts Road, 104 in Ontdekkers Road and 90 in Beyers Naude.

Anton Ossip, chief executive officer of Discovery Insure, said the Pothole Patrol team were kept busy in the past year.

“The past year has not been without challenges, such as the unseasonal rain, but we are undoubtedly making a

dent in supporting the city to deliver to all drivers and passengers on the streets of Johannesburg,” said Ossip.

“As a company that strives to be a force for social good, underpinned by our shared value insurance model, there is nothing more gratifying than seeing us doing such impactful work to make roads safer for everyone, clients and non-clients.”

While Ossip isn’t able to reveal how much it cost to repair the potholes, he believes the investment has been well worth it.

“We’re not able to discuss the exact costs, but there is no doubt of its return on investment, in that we’ve seen pothole-related motor insurance claims drastically reduced in the City of Johannesburg, compared to neighbouring municipalities in Gauteng.”

Ossip said he was proud of the teams’ efforts.

“Repairing over 100 000 potholes is something to be proud of. We know we still have our work cut out for us, and we look forward to building even more on this.”

“Roodepoort unfortunately has the most potholes in the city. In the Sandton area alone we received over 4 000 pothole reports. We encourage Joburg drivers to keep up reporting these to us, so that we can do our best to help our clients and residents.”

He said the teams were unable repair all the potholes that were reported.

“Given the high volume and demand coupled with disruption due to the heavy rains, we weren’t able to attend to every single report, but are working very hard to get to these in time. Some logged potholes cannot be fixed by our teams as they require a full road resurfacing or a correction to the underlying issue such as old municipal infrastructure, water damage, or construction work, and these are being attended to by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA).

“We are only allowed to fix potholes measuring a maximum size of 1m by 1m. Anything bigger than this is referred to our partners, the JRA, who have done a fantastic job in working on these.”

Anneli Retief, head of Dial Direct Insurance, said she was proud of the effort made by the Pothole Patrol.

“There have been a few challenges over the past 12 months including above average rainfall and a bitumen shortage, but there have been more successes than challenges. The number of potholes filled to date is proof of this and we are very proud of the difference we have made.”

Retief said although potholes would always be a reality given the ageing infrastructure in Joburg, the Pothole Patrol was committed to assisting the JRA and City of Joburg to fast-track the repair of these potholes.

“Residents should help by reporting each and every one the Pothole Patrol app, which is available on the Apple App or Google Play stores.”

Joburg road users are encouraged to contact the City of Johannesburg call centre at 0860 562 874, choose option 5 for the JRA, or they can download the Pothole Patrol apps to support this initiative by reporting potholes.