North road in ruins as repairs stall for two weeks

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12-12-2025
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Pretoria Rekord
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The situation has gone beyond inconvenient and has become a genuine safety risk. Ben Viljoen Street is one of the busiest roads in the north.

For the past two weeks, Ben Viljoen Street in Pretoria North, Ward 2, has remained in a severely damaged and dangerous condition, after incomplete municipal repair work brought traffic to a standstill, leaving residents deeply frustrated.

The section between Brits Avenue and Gerrit Maritz Road has deteriorated to the point where motorists are avoiding it, raising serious concerns about safety, service delivery, and accountability.

What began as routine service work has resulted in a roadway that is now barely recognisable.

Large portions of the surface are broken and uneven, a gaping open hole has been left next to the road, and the traffic lights at the intersection have been removed without any temporary replacement.

No warning signage or barriers have been put in place, and there has been no visible progress in repairing the damage. This has left residents feeling increasingly confused and frustrated.

For many who use this road daily, the situation has gone beyond inconvenience and has become a genuine safety risk.

“Every day I drive through here holding my breath. The road is so uneven and dangerous that you don’t know where your tyres will land. There are no signs, no workers, no progress; it feels like the metro has completely forgotten about us,” said resident Linda Mokoena.

Another resident, Gerrit van Rooyen, described the experience as both stressful and unacceptable.

“I nearly damaged my car the other day because the road just drops where they dug up.

“How do you leave a main road like this for so long? It’s been two weeks. We deserve better than this. This isn’t repair work, it’s abandonment,” he said.

The residents have also raised concerns about the absence of traffic lights, especially during peak morning and afternoon traffic.

Ward 2 Councillor Quentin Meyer has strongly criticised the state of the road and the metro’s lack of follow-up.

“This started about two weekends ago. There were several water bursts and they came to fix one. Then, a few hours later, it burst again. There was also a very big power outage. So what happened is that when they dug [it] open, they hit the power cable and it tripped at the substation and the substation burnt out,” Meyer explained.

“Fibre and robots have been damaged. They have removed the robots and the road has not been fixed. It’s one of our busiest routes.”

He emphasised that the conditions pose a serious danger to motorists and pedestrians alike.

“This is completely unacceptable. The road is undrivable, the traffic lights have been removed, there is a massive open hole next to the roadway, and the surface is broken and unsafe.

“And what’s worse, it’s been left like this for two weeks without any follow-up or completion. Ward 2 does not deserve this kind of service,” he said.

Meyer stressed that the metro must be held accountable for the situation.

“This is not service delivery. This is negligence. Whether it’s water repairs, power repairs, or any form of service work, this is not how it should be done.

“I keep on escalating this matter with the relevant departments. This road has to be repaired, restored and [made] safe.”

Community safety concerns have also been raised, specifically regarding the large open excavation that has been left beside the roadway.

Without any fencing or warning barriers, Meyer said it poses a serious risk, especially at night.

“There was an accident here not so long ago. People almost lost their lives because of this incomplete work.

“All the traffic lights are not working at this intersection. The metro must appoint a team after the work has been done. Somebody must come and do an inspection for the aftermath.”

Despite enquiries sent to the Tshwane metro requesting clarity on the cause of the delays, the project’s status, responsibility for the repair work, and expected completion timelines, no official response had been provided at the time of publication.