Pretoria - The City of Tshwane will start next year with yet more and new sinkholes needing to be repaired following the latest discovery of a sinkhole that forced the City to close the Pierre van Ryneveld Nature Area in Centurion, south of Pretoria.
The sinkhole-prone Centurion community has shown that it continues to experience the formation of these natural sinkholes that often result in the closing of routes and give the City and the Gauteng government something new to budget for.
Last month saw the Gauteng Department of Roads and Logistics forced to partially close off Wierda Road in Centurion to keep vehicles from driving on the bridge that crosses the N14 highway to avoid horrific accidents.
These sinkholes and others that developed in recent months will form part of a sinkholes tracklist that chip away at the budget of the City and the provincial Roads and Logistics Department. The Tshwane Municipality has a list of at least 40 sinkholes that are currently being addressed.
Following the discovery of the sinkhole around the Pierre van Ryneveld Nature Area, the component responsible for nature conservation within the municipality convened geological and geotechnical engineers on-site to assess the developing hole, which is located along the eastern boundary of the nature area bordering Fouche Street.
City spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said based on the valuations and calculations conducted, it was concluded that the cavity, which is approximately 30m deep and 13m in diameter, is a sinkhole.
He said that a decision was taken to close the Pierre van Ryneveld Nature Area to the public until further notice to allow further assessments to be carried out and for safeguarding measures to be put in place.
The sinkhole remains unstable, and indications point to it continuing to expand.
The nature area is mostly used as an attraction for walking and birding. Visitors are encouraged to visit other outdoor facilities managed by the City, which include Klapperkop and Groenkloof nature reserves for hiking and biking, and Sterrewag and Kruinpark Nature Areas for dog walking.
Regrettably, access will only be provided to visitors when the nature area is deemed safe and/or the sinkhole area has been repaired.
The public is cautioned not to stop and try to view the sinkhole from the road, as the sinkhole is very deep and dangerous.
According to mayoral spokesperson Sipho Stuurman, in the past financial year (2020/21), five sinkholes were completely repaired by the City at cost of R30 millon. For the current financial year (2021/22), the City allocated a budget of R28.5m.
Stuurman said that repair work usually took up to nine months to complete on average due to the very large earthworks and specialised repair methods.
Pretoria News