The community of Southdowns in Centurion will finally relish free-flowing traffic as the City of Tshwane today announced the reopening of John Vorster Drive, which had developed a sinkhole.
The sinkhole repairs, which have been successfully completed, appeared on the intersection of John Vorster Drive and Karee Street on 10 July 2018 in Southdowns, Centurion.
During the inspection of the site and a geological investigation, among other processes, it was discovered that the actual cause of the sinkhole was a leaking main water pipe running across the intersection. The geological investigation also revealed the following:
- The area where the sinkhole formed is underlain by chert ground conditions, which are rich in dolomite.
- The extent of the affected area is 25 m × 34 m.
- The dolomite conditions were encountered at depths ranging between 16 m and 32 m.
In apologising for the inconvenience caused by the road closure, the City of Tshwane Head Administrator, Mpho Nawa, has applauded the Southdowns community for their patience.
“The formation of the sinkhole cut off easterly and westerly movement through John Vorster Drive as well as access to Southdowns mall, schools and other amenities which necessitated the City to create a bypass around the sinkhole to temporarily accommodate traffic while repairs were underway,” Nawa said.
In addition, Nawa commended the contractor for the timely completion of the repairs to the sinkhole.
“The City appointed Ditshimega Projects and Training on 23 December 2019 to undertake the repairs to this sinkhole. The contractor did not waste time as repair works started on 26 January this year. Notwithstanding the interruptions experienced due to the COVID-19 national lockdown, the project has been successfully completed within the seven-month appointment period,” added Nawa.
The appointment budget for the project was R10 367 197,28 (including VAT) and the final cost is R7 500 000,00 (including VAT). This means that there has been a saving of over R2 million which can now be redirected to a small sinkhole in Region 4.