The grading of gravel roads has commenced in various sectors and is ongoing. Repairs to potholes in tarred roads have been effected.

Furthermore, the following information was received by Mr Denovan de Rhodie and confirmed on the 12 August at an OM information meeting:

Please note that both grading and pothole repairs mentioned were not part of a planned intervention/schedule, but rather organised on short notice. 

The contractor was busy with reinstatement at the Hangklip/Stream/Buffel intersection, and we ask them to attend to the mentioned potholes on the asphalt roads at the same time. Our in-house patching team is currently busy in Kleinmond.

The contract for the Reseal and Rehabilitation of Roads contractor — which will also cover gravel road maintenance in Pringle Bay — has not yet been awarded. Our internal team therefore stepped in to start repairing gravel roads in Pringle Bay, despite currently being scheduled to work in Betty’s Bay.

Our approach to the maintenance of roads, both gravel & asphalt, is outlined below.

ASPHALT ROADS:

1. i) Reseal & Rehabilitation Programme– This programme addresses sections of asphalt roads that require either resealing to extend the useful life of the road or full rehabilitation once they have reached the end of their useful life. The priorities for either application is determined through the Pavement Management System which is updated bi-annually and the implementation is rolled out by the contractor Overstrand wide on a rotational basis. For the 2025/26 financial year, the contractor will begin in Hermanus Administration, then move to Gansbaai Administration, and thereafter to the Kleinmond Administration area. The area of work is always depended on the rate of the application and the available funding for the financial year.

1. ii) In-house patching team– Our in-house patching team is used for the repair of small areas with cold mix asphalt. According to our SLA (Service Level Agreement) the turnaround for repair of potholes on asphalt roads is 15 working days after it was reported. In the past, we have struggled to adhere to this turnaround time due to the availability of resources.

iii) Small works contractor – We will be using our small works contractor for the repair of larger areas with hot asphalt. This type of patching is largely required when we have an area that needs to be reinstated after a burst pipe or where a road crossing for services was done for example. The turnaround time might be a bit longer because the supplier only delivers a minimum of 6m³ of hot asphalt from the plant. However, we will prepare the area in advance by cutting it and reinstating the sub-base before final surfacing.

GRAVEL ROADS:

Reseal & Rehabilitation Contractor – Since a contractor will only be appointed later this year, OM will for now perform maintenance on all gravel roads in Pringle Bay. The first round will be scheduled from September 2025 to November 2025. The next round of maintenance within this financial year will be scheduled from March 2026 to May 2026. During the winter months only, attention will be given to severely damaged sections/areas. The application of stabilisation of a section of gravel roads through either geo-hex plastic grid system as suggested by your working group or modified binders will also be given the necessary attention.

DUST CONTROL:

We will continue with the application of dust control surfacing. The area of application will depend on the rate of the incoming Reseal & Rehabilitation contractor and the available funding. I am hopeful that we will be able to complete Edward Road, Bobbie Road, and the remaining gravel section of Caesar Road during the 2025/26 financial year.