‘The City thanks residents for reporting the potholes in their areas and for their support while we are prioritising repairs according to the impacted roads’ classification criteria and as we work toward keeping Cape Town moving. The volume and intensity of the rain we experienced over the past few weeks have caused damage to many of our roads across the metro. The SA Weather Service confirmed that Cape Town recorded the most rainfall over this period since 1965. This is extraordinary and we can see the impact on our road network.’
‘Our teams have been hard at work. The repair on high order roads has been prioritised as these are our busiest roads with the highest traffic volumes. We apply a range of different criteria before deciding on which potholes to attend to first and can assure residents that we are making every effort to get to their areas as soon as possible,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.
The following important criteria apply for repairing potholes:
· During winter, the RIM teams fill the potholes temporarily only, as temporary repairs can only take place in summer in sunny conditions when the road surface is dry
· Thus, full repairs are affected once the rain stops
· After our rainy season, there is normally a bit of a backlog that needs to be cleared, but this year the need is definitely higher given the exceptional rainfall
The City has a road classification system based on the function of that road within the hierarchy:
· Roads with a higher mobility function with higher volumes of traffic and speed are prioritised for repairs
· Repairs to residential streets with lower volumes and slower speeds are prioritised on a first-reported-first-served basis
· When logging a pothole, we kindly request residents to ensure the location details are correct, and to also note whether this is along a street, road or avenue
Potholes are caused by water getting into the road structure through the surface when it is cracked or damaged due to ageing or other damage. The presence of a pothole does not necessarily mean a road need to be resurfaced.
‘The City makes an effort to maintain the road network with resurfacing and resealing interventions as far as the weather allows. These maintenance projects prolong the lifespan of our road structure. Our resurfacing and resealing programmes start in drier weather conditions. All roads require resurfacing during their lifecycle and the volume of traffic the road carries will determine how long a surface lasts. It is true, however, that the extreme winter rains may have accelerated the need for the resurfacing of some roads that would have been fine, otherwise. I want to thank residents for their patience, and continuous support while we are doing repairs as best and speedily as we can,’ said Councillor Quintas.
The City’s Road Infrastructure Management Department has various road resurfacing and rehabilitation projects currently under way across Cape Town and many more planned between now and June 2025.
For all Roads and Stormwater service delivery queries or complaints contact call 0800 65 64 63; email transport.info@capetown.gov.za or SMS 31373 (no more than 160 characters)
Do the right thing by reporting blocked stormwater infrastructure, illegal dumping and potholes:
• Use the City of Cape Town app
• Phone the City’s customer call centre on 0860 103 089
• Or, log a service request on www.capetown.gov.za/servicerequests
