No new road for Christmas: Middelburg residents still waiting after R75-million project collapses

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13-11-2025
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Daily Maverick
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The two-year mark is steadily approaching since a contractor disappeared with R75-million before completing phase one of Middelburg’s integrated traffic control centre, and the transport department will only be able fix the dilapidated road after February 2026.

A major money spinner for the residents of Middelburg is motorists travelling through the Karoo and into the Eastern Cape for their December holidays.

However, for nearly two years the main access route on the northern edge of town has been reduced to nothing more than a poorly maintained and deteriorating gravel road after a large-scale, multimillion-rand project to build a state-of-the-art integrated traffic control centre collapsed.

Now, clouds of thick dust kick up in the notorious Karoo wind, or whenever motorists who are willing to risk damage to their vehicles drive on the dilapidated road.

And local businesses are likely to lose out on more holiday business over the coming festive season as the Department of Transport said it will not be able to appoint a contractor to reseal Meintjies Street before February 2026 due to internal policies and delays.

“It’s only a short stretch of road, but to our town it is a lifeline. This has been a headache since early in 2024, and despite constant battles with local government officials, we are getting no joy,” said Ward 9 councillor Handri Vorster.

In the first quarter of 2024 the main access route into Middelburg was closed off for the start of the integrated traffic control centre project, which would have included a traffic control facility and weighbridge — a crucial piece of equipment for the N9 with the high volume of road freight it accommodates.

R75-million was poured into phase one of the project, and contractors immediately began by ripping up the tarred road surface where Meintjies Street meets the N9. More than 18 months down the line, residents have nothing to show other than a crumbling road.

 Disputes between the contractor, the transport department and the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality brought the project to a standstill, and the contractors abandoned the project. 

On one occasion, engineers contracted to a local wind farm project helped to level and reopen the road, and a few months later local farmers brought their workers to do the same.

However, the transport department was not impressed by the farmers’ initiative. 

“The road was closed by the department, and its opening was unauthorised,” department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said.

“The department acknowledges that it has received several complaints from the residents living close to Meintjies Street, and also from the business community, pertaining to the state of the road.”

He said internal processes had led to delays in the appointment of a new contractor to maintain and resurface the stretch of road in question.

He added that the termination of the contract before phase one of Meintjies Street was complete had put the department in a difficult position, as it had to engage in a new procurement process. 

“Initially it was envisaged that the department’s Framework and Surfacing Contractor databases will be approved by July 2025, after which the procurement process could be fast-tracked and a new service provider appointed.

“However the approval of the databases was delayed to September 2025. The department is busy finalising the contract documentation and it is envisaged that the contractor will be appointed in February 2026.”

In the meantime, Binqose said a water truck had been deployed to suppress the dust on the road three days a week, addressing one of the major complaints they had received from residents. 

Vorster said months of promises of a water truck to assist with the dust finally materialised on Tuesday. The department also sent a grader to improve the condition of the road and make it passable for vehicles coming in and out of town.

“The water truck has been here before, but it only stays for a few days before it leaves again due to the municipality’s limited resources. We hope this will assist us and keep the road open for the festive season, otherwise business in our town will suffer.”

Vorster said the big question remained where the funds went after the approval of the initial contractor, and what remained of the R75-million allocated to phase one of the traffic control centre.

“We want answers, but more importantly, we will not rest until our road is completely restored,” Vorster said.