Polokwane - An amount of R452 million will be spent over the next year on the preventative maintenance of Limpopo's roads.
Roads and Transport MEC Pinky Kekana told the provincial legislature this week that her department had already identified 32 roads projects across the province.
"It is generally known and accepted that preventative maintenance is much cheaper than reactive maintenance. It is our collective view that when potholes do occur, they must be properly repaired," said Kekana when tabling her department's R3.8 billion budget.
She said another R60 million would be spent on 60 pothole patching projects that would be completed before the end of the week, and that an additional R200 million would be spent on pothole patching and routine maintenance on 11 projects the rest of the year.
Kekana said R250 million had been set aside for infrastructure improvements, including the construction of an interchange, pedestrian bridges and walkways in Botlokwa.
The Botlokwa contract is planned to be awarded in June.
"The people of Botlokwa will finally say government has listened to us. We cannot shy away from acknowledging that on a daily basis, pedestrians in particular were ... risking their own lives having to cross a busy freeway," she said.
Several pedestrian bridges would also be completed across the province this year.
"Bridges connect communities and provide access to social amenities and markets. That is not debatable if we are to take our people out of abject poverty," she said. - BuaNews
