Deep potholes fixed in Constantia Park and Wingate Park

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17-06-2025
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Pretoria Rekord
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Residents praised the civil rights organisation, AfriForum, after dangerous road craters went unrepaired for months despite repeated complaints to the metro.

Frustrated Constantia Park residents can breathe a sigh of relief after AfriForum repaired several dangerous potholes in the area that had gone unattended by the Tshwane metro for months.

Resident Lizette Retief stated that the potholes began forming as early as December, growing larger over time and creating a hazard for drivers and public transportation.

“They came and fixed all the potholes in our area after we reported them for months with no response from the metro,” she said.

“We’ve got a bus service that goes through our area, and the holes got so big that buses had to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid them.”

Retief said some potholes were so deep they caused vehicle bumpers to scrape the ground when driven over.

She added that there were especially bad ones near Castle Walk where they had to choose which pothole to hit because they couldn’t avoid them all.

“Now they’ve been fixed by AfriForum, and it’s much better.”

The repairs have been welcomed by residents who say the smooth roads have brought immediate relief.

“I don’t know who arranged it, but I was really impressed with AfriForum,” said Retief.

According to AfriForum’s district co-ordinator for Pretoria North, Llewellynn Hemmens, the repairs began on June 11.

“This project was driven by outreach from residents,” said Hemmens.

“We received at least 13 complaint reference numbers submitted to the metro without any feedback.”

While AfriForum usually works under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the metro, Hemmens said this specific project was initiated independently due to the urgency.

So far, the team has used about 650kg of tar (26 bags) at Wingate Park and expects to use another 26 bags to complete the job.

“We are still busy in that area and will probably use another 26 bags.

“The final number of potholes filled will be confirmed once the work is done.”

Hemmens confirmed the potholes posed a major safety risk.

“Some were extremely deep and could cause serious damage to vehicles or even accidents.”