Businesses welcome repair of pothole-ridden Sixth Road in Bredell

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28-08-2025
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Kempton Express
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Businesses had initially purchased materials to fill the potholes, but the temporary repair quickly deteriorated under heavy traffic.

The state of potholes along Sixth Road in Bredell AH caused such frustration for local businesses that Bean Tree Café and Spar Bredell contributed between R2 000 and R3 000 earlier this year to carry out a temporary fix.

On March 11, Kempton Express visited the road after Bean Tree Café manager Debbie Smith raised concerns about the conditions and the impact on business. At the time, the road was in an unbearable state.

The City of Ekurhuleni was contacted for comment on March 12 but failed to respond before publication. However, on June 27, the municipality repaired the road.

“The road was fixed on June 27. The head of department for roads and transport management brought this matter to the depot’s attention.

“The short delay was due to a queue of previously reported complaints that required attention before this one,” said CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.

A follow-up visit by Kempton Express on July 17 confirmed the road was in good condition.

Smith explained that the businesses had initially purchased materials to fill the potholes, but the temporary repair quickly deteriorated under heavy traffic.

“We were losing customers back then before the road was fixed because the road was damaging their tyres.

“Now people are coming back, and it’s like we are back in business. It is not entirely like it was before, but definitely better than when the road was not fixed. I am happy that the municipality finally listened to our cry,” she said.

The poor road conditions had a significant effect on nearby businesses, with customers regularly complaining about damage to their vehicles. Since the repair, trade is slowly improving.

Spar Bredell manager Patrick Mofokeng agreed that the road’s repair has been a major relief.

“Business has grown nicely, and more customers are coming from other parts of Kempton Park. We are grateful to have our old customers back and even new ones. I don’t think this would have been possible if the road was not fixed.”

Dlamini added that, according to CoE’s standard service delivery targets, it can take up to five working days to repair a single pothole on a minor road, though this may vary depending on the backlog of service requests and weather conditions.