Pothole Irony

Seeing the ongoing decay of provincial roads is saddening to me. The road I referred to in a recently published letter was the R72, specifically the stretch from Fish River to Port Alfred. I once tried counting the potholes, but lost count at around 100. This road is economically vital to the area. Local tourism and businesses count on that road for their survival! Without passing traffic many restaurants and holiday resorts will suffer. Other business also depends on the heavy freight traffic that makes use of this route.

The irony of this story is that less than a week after I had my letter on this topic published, I was a victim of the very same potholes. Lets just say that the pothole won, and I'm R1310 poorer for it.

I'm travelling that road again later this week and sincerely hope that some effort has been made to start repairs.

Also see DA Press Release: LACK OF ROAD POTHOLE MAINTENANCE A PROVINCIAL CRISIS