The DA in Limpopo notes that years of sustained pressure has successfully resulted in Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) finally appointing a contractor to do rehabilitation work on the R522 road.
After an oversight visit from the Limpopo Legislature Portfolio Committee of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure in February 2025, the DA and other stakeholders continued to put pressure on RAL and the department to continue with the rehabilitation that was started in 2023 and then stalled.
The R522 road from Vivo to Louis Trichardt had remained incomplete after numerous years since the project started and work on it had seemingly paused. During an oversight visit early in February 2025, the Portfolio Committee was promised that a new contractor will be on site on 1 April 2025.
The original completion date was March 2024 but during another oversight visit in July 2025, it was clear that no contractor had been appointed at that point and the road was stripped of tar on certain parts and now posed a risk for motorists and had led to the damage of vehicles as well as accidents.
This road provides a vital economic link between many communities along this road such as Buysdorp, Tshikwarani, Maebani (Kutama area), and Midoroni. This route serves as a major connector for these rural communities to the N1 highway and the economic activities in Louis Trichardt.
The contractor is busy with rehabilitation on the road from Louis Trichardt to the Dorpsrivier bridge and unfortunately the contract does not cater for the rest of the road, with the road from the bridge to Vivo still full of dangerous potholes. The Makhado cost centre indicated they would assist to do tar repairs up to Vivo. The DA will further request RAL to appoint a contractor to repair the rest of the road as the cost centre can only do patching and cannot rebuild the road.
The DA is committed to maintaining road infrastructure and will continue to conduct oversight inspections to ensure that the contractor delivers quality road rehabilitation within budget and on time.