Potholes are the price of lovely rain
With many of Windhoek's street increasingly pockmarked by potholes following heavy rains, motorists are paying a high price and the City of Windhoek's teams are scrambling to keep up with repair work.
Tiger Wheel & Tyre Windhoek owner Ewald van Rensburg says the company has seen a 25% increase in customers who need to buy new tyres after destructive encounters with the city's increasing number of potholes.
Charlton Swartz, manager at Supa Quick Tyre Experts Windhoek, says his company on average assists three to four clients a day, who complain that their tyres were damaged by potholes.
Van Rensburg explains that the damage caused by potholes usually means that a tyre needs to be replaced, which can be costly.
The damage caused by potholes includes rim damage, or damage to the sidewalls of the tyres, which cannot be fixed.
Tyre prices range from N$600 up to N$5 000, he says.
Swartz adds that wheel replacement because of pothole damage is usually not a budgeted expense, which makes for very unhappy car owners.
He adds that it's mostly sedan cars that sustain damage, as larger off-road tyres can often withstand the impact with a pothole.
Doing our best
Dirk Reed, head of the City of Windhoek's roads and stormwater division, explains that potholes form where the surface seal is not waterproof anymore, which leads to water ingress during continuous periods of wet conditions. When a vehicle drives over such a weakened spot, a pothole develops.
Reed rejected allegations that some areas of the city are attended to quicker than others.
“No, we try to repair potholes as fast as we can, and we concentrate on the arterial and collector roads that are the most important,” he said.
He said the current situation was “a huge challenge, especially this year, as the new Procurement Act delayed the appointment of unit rate and reseal contractors.”
He said the City hoped that the contractors would be appointed in May, after which the City could repair all the potholes.
Reed added that the current wet conditions hampered pothole repairs.
“We have our own teams that do their best, but we are falling behind on the repairs,” he admitted.
“We have a capacity problem, but strive to repair within a week,” he emphasised.
During wet conditions, the City's teams can only repair potholes temporarily with Soilcrete, which needs to be replaced with Cold Asphalt Premix once the weather is drier. Reed said the whole of Windhoek was affected.
The City has budgeted N$70 million for road and stormwater maintenance, and pothole repairs fall under that annual budget, he explained.
Reed urged residents to report potholes as soon as they spot them.
For areas west of the B1 Bypass, contact 061 290 2775, and east of the B1 Bypass contact 061 290 2061.
JANA-MARI SMITH
Tiger Wheel & Tyre Windhoek owner Ewald van Rensburg says the company has seen a 25% increase in customers who need to buy new tyres after destructive encounters with the city's increasing number of potholes.
Charlton Swartz, manager at Supa Quick Tyre Experts Windhoek, says his company on average assists three to four clients a day, who complain that their tyres were damaged by potholes.
Van Rensburg explains that the damage caused by potholes usually means that a tyre needs to be replaced, which can be costly.
The damage caused by potholes includes rim damage, or damage to the sidewalls of the tyres, which cannot be fixed.
Tyre prices range from N$600 up to N$5 000, he says.
Swartz adds that wheel replacement because of pothole damage is usually not a budgeted expense, which makes for very unhappy car owners.
He adds that it's mostly sedan cars that sustain damage, as larger off-road tyres can often withstand the impact with a pothole.
Doing our best
Dirk Reed, head of the City of Windhoek's roads and stormwater division, explains that potholes form where the surface seal is not waterproof anymore, which leads to water ingress during continuous periods of wet conditions. When a vehicle drives over such a weakened spot, a pothole develops.
Reed rejected allegations that some areas of the city are attended to quicker than others.
“No, we try to repair potholes as fast as we can, and we concentrate on the arterial and collector roads that are the most important,” he said.
He said the current situation was “a huge challenge, especially this year, as the new Procurement Act delayed the appointment of unit rate and reseal contractors.”
He said the City hoped that the contractors would be appointed in May, after which the City could repair all the potholes.
Reed added that the current wet conditions hampered pothole repairs.
“We have our own teams that do their best, but we are falling behind on the repairs,” he admitted.
“We have a capacity problem, but strive to repair within a week,” he emphasised.
During wet conditions, the City's teams can only repair potholes temporarily with Soilcrete, which needs to be replaced with Cold Asphalt Premix once the weather is drier. Reed said the whole of Windhoek was affected.
The City has budgeted N$70 million for road and stormwater maintenance, and pothole repairs fall under that annual budget, he explained.
Reed urged residents to report potholes as soon as they spot them.
For areas west of the B1 Bypass, contact 061 290 2775, and east of the B1 Bypass contact 061 290 2061.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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