Newcastillians will continue to navigate challenging roads as the Newcastle Municipality strives to rectify the deteriorating infrastructure that motorists endure daily. The Municipality’s recent Mayoral Roadshows brought critical attention to the formidable obstacles hindering efforts to restore the town’s road network.
In assessing service delivery challenges, the Municipality pinpointed poor road infrastructure as a pressing issue.
Given the ageing tarred roads throughout Newcastle, the Municipality launched its Active Pothole Patching Programme in early May 2025. The technical department initiated pothole repairs, light grading, and stormwater drainage maintenance to enhance road functionality.
As highlighted during the Integrated Development Plan Roadshow, the Municipality has reinforced its pothole patching team with additional personnel to accelerate repairs. This strategic enhancement aims to address the substantial backlog of pothole repairs across Newcastle West and Newcastle East.
The programme has commenced on a limited scale in Newcastle West, with weather conditions cited as a constraint. The Municipality plans to announce a comprehensive rollout once weather conditions improve.
A further complication affecting road infrastructure is Newcastle’s stormwater drainage system. “Most of our catchpits are clogged as a result of the recent flooding,” the government entity reported, noting that its technical services team had begun clearing catch pits in the CBD using high-pressure hoses.
Despite its commitment to restoring local roads, the Municipality faces financial limitations, with the current budget insufficient to fully address road and stormwater challenges.
Furthermore, the Technical Services Department is actively pursuing alternative funding from government and private sector sources to meet maintenance needs. Additionally, the Municipality has partnered with Fuze to tackle the pothole crisis. This programme has started, with the theoretical phase completed and practical implementation set to begin shortly.
As the Newcastle Municipality works to address its pothole challenges, the Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA) has praised the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport’s initiative to tackle a province-wide backlog of 3.12 million potholes.
The PSA noted that the Department has allocated R216 million and deployed 55 trucks for the effort, with over 100 roadworker aides and supervisors appointed to lead the campaign. An additional 25 trucks are scheduled to join the programme.
Emphasising the initiative’s importance, the PSA stated, “Potholes are a widespread problem on roads and can be caused by several factors. These include water infiltration, where water seeps into the soil beneath the road surface owing to a lack of drainage systems, causing the road to crack. Extreme weather, such as high temperatures caused by climate change, may cause roads to expand and be damaged. Roads that were meant for small vehicles are used by heavy trucks and constant traffic, which also cause damage to roads. A lack of maintenance and construction companies that are awarded tenders to construct roads use cheap material cause roads to deteriorate quicker and result in potholes.”
The PSA further underscored the consequences of potholes, including vehicle damage and costly repairs. “Potholes can cause traffic congestion and accidents with a loss of life. In addition, potholes make it difficult for emergency workers to arrive at destinations in good time. Potholes impact on the economy as these are expensive to repair, impair road safety, and increase fuel consumption. The PSA welcomes this programme as it will improve the lives of citizens. The PSA calls on the Department to ensure that this programme is managed correctly to prevent and ensure accountability on the use of the allocated budget. The PSA also urges the Department to ensure that the construction company uses genuine materials to prevent roads from deteriorating,” the PSA concluded.
The Newcastle Municipality’s efforts to address the town’s crumbling road infrastructure, while commendable, face significant hurdles that demand urgent and innovative solutions.
The Active Pothole Patching Programme and partnerships with organisations like Fuze demonstrate a commitment to improving road conditions, yet financial constraints and weather-related delays continue to impede progress. The collaboration with Fuze, which empowers unemployed women and youth while delivering strategic service solutions, offers a promising model for community-driven infrastructure projects. However, the Municipality must secure additional funding and streamline operations to effectively tackle the pothole backlog and restore safe, functional roads for Newcastillians.
On a broader scale, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport’s province-wide initiative, backed by a substantial budget and workforce, sets a robust example for addressing such challenges. The PSA’s call for accountability and quality materials underscores the need for transparent, sustainable practices in road maintenance.
For Newcastle, aligning local efforts with such regional strategies could amplify impact, ensuring that roads not only withstand environmental and traffic pressures but also support economic growth and public safety. As these programmes unfold, sustained collaboration, rigorous oversight, and community engagement will be critical to transforming Newcastle’s roads into reliable arteries of progress.
What are your thoughts on the above? Share your views in the comment section below.
Comments 8
Drakensberg rd between Impala and Pick&Pay turnoff been repaired last week but again at the repaired area breaking up and next pothole starting to open up again and the direct opposite of this road also very bad and accidents awaiting to happen. Then at Amethyst turn off from Drakensberg rd more accidents awaiting due to bad state of the road. How much are our Municipality going to spend/waist our money on repairs done by uncoppedent contractors and personal or is this also corrupt tenders.
Street maintenance has been neglected for too long
Patching is a waste of time , energy and taxpayers money
Streets will have to be resealed and in some cases reconstructed
The pot-hole repair project in a waste of manpower and finances.
In Ebony Street,someone put cement blocks into a pot hole..with great success..
The pot holes need a sold foundation for the repairs to be effective
A BAND-AID on a wound that needs stitching…cannot work.
I am a long standing citizen of Newcastle. Lived here for 45 years, and now live in the Southern Cape. I still visit at least twice a year. I have yet to see any improvement in infrastructure in Newcastle West, instead every time we visit the situation is worse than before. Whene are the custodians going to wake up and smell the roses. They should be measured on performance, and merely be replaced if they do not pwrform
I have heard this so many times and nothing has been done about it . I go to work 04.00am in the morning and you don’t know where to ride ( I use a bicycle to go to work ) as every where you ride has pot holes . If thats not the only problem most streets in Airbo Park no lights are not working at all.
This is a big problem in Arbor Park and in Newcastle its self . As a few years ago I hit a pot hole on a bicycle and I broke my rigt wrist because it . As there were no lights and the road was covered with water from the rain .
Why Repair done on potholes not lasting !!
After few weeks same potholes are open again !!
Cheap tar ? Or substandard work ? .
This type of cordial commentary on the competence of our municipality is misplaced and will definitely not motivate our local government and councilors into doing anything positive for this town.
Municipalities will reimburse vehicle owners should they prove that the damage caused to their vehicles was from a pothole. A photograph of the pothole should accompany the claim. That is the law. Residents should be made aware of this!