Road authorities uneasy as more rains approach
Katlego Motsamai | Wednesday January 18, 2017 15:16
Transport and Communications permanent secretary, Elias Magosi said the heavy rains across the country were posing major challenges to the national road network.
On Monday, Magosi told journalists that the rains had already damaged parts of the network and this would continue through the rest of the season. The ministry is responsible for just over 18,000 kilometres of the road network, with 6,400 kilometres of this being paved.
The PS said nearly all roads had been affected by the rains.
“We have some gravel roads along our network, which were washed away by floods and cannot be used while others are only passable by four-wheel drive vehicles and not small vehicles,” Magosi said.
He added that some paved roads had experienced pavement failures due to having reached their design life. The situation on these roads was made worse by the recent flooding, which created potholes, Magosi said.
Roads affected include Moshupa-Kanye and the Francistown-Nata road.
“There were cases where water was passing over the roads and the affected roads had to be closed temporarily for a few hours to allow the water to pass,” said Magosi.
The railway line, in some areas, had also been damaged and temporarily closed. Magosi said the ministry has established an emergency plan to continuously monitor roads, with a view to expediting remedial measures as and when damages are identified.
“We urge members of the public to also timeously alert the ministry if they identify dangers in the road network,” he said. In September and December, the Department of Meteorological Services forecast above normal rainfall in most parts of the country for the period between January to March, warning of the risk of flooding in those parts.