Pretoria - Starting from today, Kruger Avenue in Lyttelton Manor will be temporarily closed for traffic until further notice because of a sinkhole that has developed on the roadway.
City of Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the road closure would allow the metro time to conduct sinkhole investigation and repair.
The sinkhole was observed on March 10 2022 as a physical hole on the roadway with surrounding sagging and cracks in the road surface.
It is visible in the southbound lane of the roadway and extends below the surface to the northbound lane and possibly further beyond.
Bokaba said: “The City is compelled to immediately close the said road for safety purposes as well as to allow for physical assessment and geological investigation in order to determine the necessary method of repair.”
The actual area of the road closure is between stand number 1009 and 1011 Kruger Avenue and will affect the entire roadway.
Bokaba said: “While the surface extent of the sinkhole on the roadway may be small, the sinkhole expands at approximately 2m below the surface into the northbound lane and to the existing sinkhole located on the verge of the southbound lane.”
The sinkhole further extends in both directions across the road and the extent of the sinkhole affected area is approximately 25m by 10m and 6m in depth. He said that both lanes of Kruger Avenue, the sidewalk areas, and portions of properties between 1009 and 1011 are affected by the sinkhole.
The city said the sinkhole was unstable and could further collapse inwards at any time on the roadway.
“Businesses on either side of the closure point and persons requiring local access to sites with street number 1009 and less, need to approach from River Roadside. Meanwhile, those from addresses 1011 up to 1026 Kruger Avenue and on Theron Street will have to access from the Van Ryneveld Avenue side. The municipal garden refuse site can be accessed from Van Ryneveld Avenue. Provision will be made for pedestrians on the western side of the road,” the city said.
The city also acknowledged that the road closure would also affect access to businesses and facilities in the immediate vicinity since there was no viable detour route around the sinkhole area.
It apologised to locals and motorists for the inconvenience the road closure would cause and pleaded for co-operation for the duration of the project.
Pretoria News