DISCOVERY Insure, in its partnership with the City of Joburg and Dialdirect Insurance, said yesterday that since its launch in May, its Pothole Patrol project had filled more than 2 500 potholes in its efforts to help fix road infrastructure and make it safer to drive.
Discovery said the country spends an about R700 to R1 599 per square metre to repair roads, and it was estimated that the country had between 48 000 and 100 000 potholes to attend to at any given time.
Anton Ossip, the chief executive of Discovery Insure, said: “If you combine the traditional, defined size of a pothole with the road defects and deep trenches, the Pothole Patrol has repaired the equivalent of 10 000 road defects to date, the equivalent of one rugby field.
“The Pothole Patrol is committed to repairing as many potholes as it can – typically at an impressive rate of 600 defects per week – and is gearing up to be able to repair even more.”
Anneli Retief, the head of Dialdirect said: “We are pleased with the progress and difference made to date, but road conditions are a lot worse than we thought. We are repairing much bigger, deeper and more severe crevices and holes that occur as a result of digging during road construction or for creating a passage for the laying of pipes and fibre cables. These are not classified as potholes, but rather, road defects or deep trenches requiring reinstatement.”
BUSINESS REPORT