Quality of Joburg road network under pressure

24th November 2017

By: Anine Kilian

Contributing Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

According to the Johannesburg Roads Agency’s (JRA’s) latest assessment of the city’s road network, surfaced roads in Johannesburg that are rated as good or very good have decreased from 52% in 2013 to 45%.

The JRA’s latest assessment of the quality of Johannesburg’s road network has shown that surfaced roads rated as poor and very poor have increased from 27% to 32%.

Seventy-two per cent of gravel roads are also in a poor or very poor condition.

The assessment identifies and categorises surface roads that require maintenance, gravel roads that require upgrades and the reconstruction and resurfacing requirements across the city’s 13 599 km road network.

“In terms of engineering standards, the roads condition index across the city has decreased from 89% in 2013 to 64% at present; this indicates a 25% increase in the deterioration of the road network condition,” JRA MD Goodwill Mbatha said.

Roads are still deteriorating and the current funding allocated is inadequate to address the rate of deterioration.

“Annual budgets, therefore, require a greater fiscal investment to reverse the deterioration of roads and ensure a safe road network.”

Findings from the lengthy study will inform the JRA’s budget and planning for the next three years.

The field work to capture data across the city’s network took about 12 months, followed by months of analysis and reporting to consolidate the study.

“The JRA’s roads study, known as the Visual Conditions Assessment (VCA), is an extensive undertaking in which every kilometre of road is examined and assessed.

“Johannesburg’s road network is made up of 1 168.53 km of gravel roads and 12 390.93 km of surfaced roads. The study also indicates that the total network has increased by 131 km since 2013, owing to new private developments requiring new access roads,” said Mbatha.

The JRA’s total capital budget for 2017/18 is R1.21-billion, of which R247-million has been allocated towards roads.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION