Fix our roads please
// April 17th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Cars & Bikes
We all know that Johannesburg roads are riddled with potholes at the moment. I think it was the Minister who said in a report this week that approximately 70-80% of South African (read, not just JHB) roads are in a really bad state.
Since I’ve had my first (of three) Volvo’s* I’ve been a magnet for tyre problems. This is not to the fault of Volvo mind you, but more the state of the roads in and around JHB. The only reason why I’m bringing up the Volvo thing, is the cost of replacing tyres.
Having a “high performance” vehicle, means “high performance” tyres, which means a big dent in your wallet. But I’m digressing.
Bellairs drive in Northriding must be one of the worst ever roads built by man. There’s no storm water drainage and the road is in a perpetual state of potholedness**. The latter is largely due to the housing developments that have sprung up in that street and area over the last 6 years or so.
Too many complexes went up without adequate planning. The traffic is a nightmare and it could take anywhere between 45 minutes to 2 hours to get to Sandton. Not fun.
The storm water drainage problem is seemingly being attended to at the moment, which is causing its own set of problems. For one, they have closed one lane of the road and created a one way only. Just imagine the chaos when hundreds of drivers suddenly realise that there’s only one way (and that’s down).
You’re being diverted to Hyperion, which in itself is chaos. The road is also in constant repair and the one side includes a low bridge, which floods when there’s a bit of mist in the air. Sediment and all kinds of building material seems to collect at the bottom whirlpool pit that is Hyperion drive.
And this is exactly where I picked up a nail, driving through this muck. Obviously only realising this on Thursday morning, being greeted by a flat tyre.
Lucky for tyrefix (the tyre fix solution) that saved the day. Two cans of that stuff inflated the tyre enough to get to the nearest service station, pumped up the tyre to 220 and drive off to work (by this time more than an hour late).
Perhaps not surprisingly, this stuff did the trick and held the tyre together. This morning (Saturday, 2 days later) I went to Tiger Wheel & Tyre in Fourways to get it checked out properly.
The nail was firmly lodged in the tyre, but mend-able. The muck created by the tyrefix cleaned out and a wheel rotation, balancing and alignment later we’re on the road again.
This tends to be a costly exercise, but very necessary. You don’t want to play with your life. Especially if it’s being held by something generally not bigger than the width of the palm of your hand.
Although accidents do happen, my plea therefore is to the Johannesburg Roads Agency and the Minister of Transport. Fix our roads please. People’s lives are at stake, the economy is at stake and South Africa’s image is at stake.
* Volvo’s tag-line is Volvo for life (there’s a reason for that – you can’t get rid of them once you have one. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great cars, but no resale value)
** Some days I make up words – potholedness is one of them – deal with it
