THE lifespan of a tar road is only about 20 to 25 years, then it has to be rebuilt.
In order for a road to reach the maximum lifespan it also has to be resealed every seven years.
“Most roads in Kouga are older than 25 years and have never been resealed,” said Kouga Speaker Hattingh Bornman, who joined Mayor Horatio Hendricks on an oversight visit to the road repair teams.
“This means that the entire road network actually needs to be rebuilt and that filling potholes is simply a temporary fix for a far more serious problem.”
He said securing external funding to upgrade roads was essential.
“It costs about R4,5 million to build one kilometre of road. The municipality simply does not have the budget to rebuild the entire network.
“We are, therefore, exploring all avenues to source funding for a long-term solution to Kouga’s road problem,” he said.
