A TRENCH that has been a nightmare for motorists travelling on one of the metro’s busiest roads sometimes becomes so deep that one’s ankles will disappear when one steps in it.
This is something that Ward 6 Councillor, Gert Engelbrecht, has experienced for himself when he wanted to test how deep the trench really was.
Situated in Willow Road, Fairview, this trench has been a problem for several months and has even led to a resident filming a live video on Facebook to vent about the issue.
The video showed motorist after motorist driving over the trench that was quite deep at the time, with some of them moving slowly whilst others came at a higher speed, not realising how deep the trench actually was.
Engelbrecht said that he had been struggling to get the trench repaired and had been conversing with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality for months, to no avail.
“There has been numerous e-mail correspondence with the municipality. Initially they said that the trench was caused by the developer (of homes in the area).
“After a whole lot of back and forth, the municipality admitted that it was their trench and that they would fix it, but there suddenly was no budget,” Engelbrecht explained.
He added that he was later told the municipality was not sure which department was responsible for causing the trench; it could either be the water or electricity directorate. Whoever the responsible department was, would have to pay to get the trench repaired.
“I have even escalated the matter to the mayor and acting city manager.
“The last correspondence I received from the municipality was that they would contact the relevant department and have it fixed by [last] Monday.”
Engelbrecht added that residents would sometimes fill up the trench themselves, just to provide a temporary solution but it never lasted long, especially after a few weeks and some rain.
“The safety of our motorists is at risk and they might suffer huge damage to their vehicles because some of them don’t see the trench.
“This is a very, very busy street.
“When Circular Drive becomes so busy, most motorists decide to take this road because it is a direct link between Lorraine and William Moffett.
“Some residents have contacted me and said that they are very unhappy; others want to sue the municipality for damages to their cars,” he said. “I just want them to completely repair the trench and not just fill it up with sand or grit.
“I don’t believe that you plan to excavate but then there is no budget for repairing the trench you dug.”
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality spokesperson, Mthubanzi Mniki, said that a team would be sent to the site to sort out the issue permanently.
Mniki also asked for pictures of the trench to ascertain what the trench was for and to send to the relevant department to attend to it.
