Johannesburg - The City of Ekurhuleni has promised to repair a massive sinkhole on Rondebult Road in Boksburg.
Sinkholes have proliferated throughout Gauteng in recent years, but Ekurhuleni and areas west of Johannesburg have been particularly hard hit. These areas are where former and active mining activities take place.
Concerned residents made videos of the sinkhole on the side of the busy Rondebult road on Friday, and shared them on Facebook and TikTok. The images went viral.
Former ward councillor Hillary Kerk cautioned road users and locals to be vigilant when travelling on the road.
“I’m standing here at the sinkhole in Rondebult. We have a new opening on the other side of the road. As we are standing here, you can actually see the ground cracking up ... we need to get the people to not walk here but to go in another direction. (Use) the other road, please. I will be informing a lot of people now about the sinkhole.”
The municipality confirmed that the sinkholes are 50% dolomitic.
The latest sinkhole was discovered last week, adjacent to the first one, which developed a few months ago.
Metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said: “The development of the initial sinkhole in the city was a prompt to close the road to the public to avoid any threat to motorists or human life in general.
“When the initial sinkhole occurred, the city immediately informed the Department of Minerals and the Council for Geosciences in an effort to identify the cause of the problem and the best way of rehabilitation. While it remains unclear what the cause of the sinkhole could be, as the sinkhole is not dolomite-related, the city suspects illegal mining.”
He said a team of experts visited the scene. “Upon conclusion of these investigations, the city will immediately embark on a rehabilitation exercise and will re-prioritise its budget towards this project. The focus will be on rehabilitating both the affected parts of Rondebult Road and the road reserve,” he said.
Dlamini said the city thanked affected communities and road users for their patience and appealed for the public to stay away from the area.
The Star