Street rehabilitation gains momentum

More contractors appointed – More streets to be tarred

The Municipality of Walvis Bay is in the process to re-establish its in-house road repair team to assist with the general repair of street surfaces. Three contractors have also been appointed, with prospects of more contractors to be appointed to resurface streets and also tar new roads.

The Walvis Bay town council made street repairs, and the construction of more tar roads, two of its main priorities for the immediate future.
In addition, the Department of Water, Waste and Environmental Affairs also appointed four contractors to repair sewer lines. Leaking sewer lines eroded street foundations at many locations across Walvis Bay, leading to potholes and rendering segments of the street unusable for vehicle traffic.
The municipality this week elaborated on the current street repair activities in Walvis Bay:
Slurry Reseal: During the recent rains, pools of stagnant water formed on the roads for prolonged periods, results in immediate damage to road surfaces.
Many streets are currently receiving a slurry seal surface to prevent the ingress of water into the underlying layers of road foundation, thereby prolonging the lifespan of these streets.
To attend to this, Council already appointed three contractors in March this year. These contractors are Ghaba Investment, Ndume Trading and Somseb Trading Enterprises. Repair work is progressing steadily and will cover all suburbs.
To date slurry surfacing has been conducted in the Northern Industrial Area in Theo-Ben Gurirab Street, and a portion of Circumferential Road.
In Kuisebmond a portion of Nathaniel Maxuilili Street has been completed.
In Meersig First Street North, an intersection of Main Street and Kovambo Nujoma Avenue.
In the Lagoon, slurry sealing is progressing in Thomas Morris Street.
Walvis Bay Town: portions of Theo-Ben Gurirab Street, Hage Geingob Street and 6th Rd. Slurry resealing has just commenced in 8th Rd as well.
Reconstruction/Preservation of Roads: Council recently appointed Windhoek Consulting Engineers to kick-start the road reconstruction/ preservation programme.
The consultant will make an assessment of all streets to determine which streets need to be prioritised for rehabilitation and which streets will have to be fully reconstructed.
Some already prioritised for full reconstruction or in sections include: Ben Amadhila Road, Circumferential Road, Kovambo Nujoma Road, Rikumbi Kandanga Rd and Union Street. In fact, Union Street is the first on which work will be conducted.
A number of intersections are also planned to be rebuilt with interlocks. The intersection of 5th Road and Hidipo Hamutenya has already been resurfaced with interlocks to protect it from especially heavy vehicle traffic.
In addition, the following streets will be tarred in Kuisebmond: Johanna Benson; Fisant; a portion of Khomas Hochland, Kingklip as well as a portion of Brandberg Street. Council also busy linking Khomas Hochland Street with Okulumbashe St. in order to direct traffic to and from the new T-junction