The Democratic Alliance wants Gauteng’s roads and transport minister Ismail Vadi to explain why newly-laid tar on the old concrete highway around Johannesburg was already showing signs of “warping”.
In a letter to Vadi on Friday, DA spokesperson Neil Campbell said he had also asked who was going to pay for the repairs.
The Star newspaper reported on Friday that the tar would have to be cut up and relaid.
It reported the warping had occured because of movement of the asphalt surfacing on the underlying concrete road.
Willem van der Merwe, the South African National Roads Agency Limited’s (Sanral) acting regional manager, told the paper the highway would not have to be re-tarred, but a small strip of asphalt surfacing would have to be replaced.
He said warping was unusual and tests were being done to identify the problem, after which Sanral would establish who would be responsible for the costs of the repair.
The section was part of the agency’s proposed toll-road network, for which road users would soon have to pay 40c a kilometre to use.
Campbell said the rapid deterioration of the road surface was “deeply concerning” and could pose a danger to motorists.
He said an investigation into the reasons for the failure and the cost implications had to take place immediately.
“The public needs the assurance that the tar over the ultra-thin pavement system used to underpin the widened sections of roads will not be similarly affected,” he said. – Sapa