The R75, which links Kariega and Despatch to the broader Nelson Mandela Bay area, is beset with smashed guardrails, broken traffic lights and overgrown grass along the centre island.
The neglected condition of the road was highlighted on Thursday during an oversight visit by the DA, led by the party’s Eastern Cape provincial chair, Yusuf Cassim.
He was joined by the DA’s whip in the Nelson Mandela Bay council, Georgina Faldtman, as well as councillors Retief Odendaal and Rano Kayser.
Speaking at the Johnson Road intersection, where traffic lights have been broken for several months, Odendaal said it was unacceptable that the strategic road had been left to decay by the South African National Roads Agency.
“The [overgrown] portion of the island close to the intersection was cut by the metro because it has become a danger to motorists turning into the road,” Odendaal said.
“You have kilometres of damaged guardrails and all this did not happen overnight.
“It has been like this for the better part of two years.”
Odendaal wrote to Sanral chief executive Reginald Demana in January about the condition of the road.
He informed him the neglect risked causing the loss of a crucial trade route.
“The same road is coming apart at the seams when you leave the city boundaries,” Odendaal said.
“That road is a lifeline to farmers in the Sundays River Valley, which contributes massively to the economy of the Eastern Cape.
“Why should the municipality, which is the bread basket of the province, be satisfied with substandard maintenance on a main road that is an entry point to the city?
On the vandalism of infrastructure on the roadway, Odendaal said the agency should have worked with the city on the solutions that were implemented on Stanford Road.
In 2023, the municipality launched a pilot programme to install 20 high-mast solar lights on Stanford Road at a cost of R3.5m.
Cassim said because the DA had not received a satisfactory answer from Sanral, it would escalate the issue to parliament.
“Part of the parliamentary mechanisms available to us is writing to the chairperson of the portfolio committee [on roads] to summon the minister and Sanral so we can have the matter put on the agenda,” he said.
In response to questions sent via email, Sanral’s southern region regional manager Mbulelo Peterson said a service provider contracted to carry out routine maintenance on the road had been prevented from working due to interruptions, or denied access by individuals and groups claiming to be from adjacent municipal wards.
“With the assistance of Sanral’s transformation unit, the service provider has engaged with local stakeholders and the contract participation goal plan for the subcontracting of targeted enterprises was recently finalised.
“Work has already commenced in some areas which fall within the realm of this contract.
“The installation and maintenance of traffic signals along this route is the responsibility of the municipality.”
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