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Joburg’s crumbling roads fuel R115bn maintenance backlog

Timeslive · · 718 words · By Yvonne Grimbeek
Infrastructure Decay Municipal Budgeting Illegal Mining Impact
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/2026-05-09-joburgs-crumbling-roads-fuel-r115bn-…

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

14 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

info Single Source 6
schedule Pending 4
check_circle Corroborated 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info
“the City of Johannesburg having to budget more than R200m to repair roads damaged by illegal underground mining activities”
SINGLE SOURCE
While web results confirm that illegal mining (Zama-Zamas) causes roads to sink in Johannesburg, there is no specific mention of the R200m budget figure in the provided evidence to corroborate the exact amount.
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web search NEUTRAL — While gold mining no longer takes place within the city limits, most mining companies still have their headquarters in Johannesburg. The city's manufacturing industries extend across a range of areas …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburg
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web search NEUTRAL — Quora is a place to gain and share knowledge. It's a platform to ask questions and connect with people who contribute unique insights and quality answers. This empowers people to learn from each other…
https://www.quora.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — Discover videos related to underground mining illegal johannesburg on TikTok.Several roads in the City of Johannesburg are now sinking due to illegal mining by the Zama-Zamas who are digging under roa…
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/underground-mining-illegal-j…
info
“The Johannesburg Road Agency’s (JRA) 2026/27 budget — presented to the council last month — reveals that close to a third of the city’s 13,599km network of surfaced and unsurfaced roads is in very poor condition”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web results provided for this claim refer to budgets for Chattanooga (USA), Australia, and India, but provide no information regarding the Johannesburg Road Agency's 2026/27 budget.
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web search NEUTRAL — — Mayor Tim Kelly introduced a proposed Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget to Chattanooga city council members Tuesday that includes road improvements and raises for first responders.
https://newschannel9.com/news/local/chattanooga-mayor-unveil…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Treasurer will deliver the 2026–27 Budget at approximately 7:30 pm (AEST) on Tuesday 12 May 2026. Countdown to the 2026–27 Budget.
https://budget.gov.au/
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web search NEUTRAL — PM Awas Gramin List 2026 (PMAY-G): Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin is the most popular affordable housing scheme for every poor family in India.Click on the state listed below to check the state-wis…
https://pmay-g.com/
info
“The proportion of road infrastructure rated “good” to “very good” has declined from 52% to 45%, while roads classified “poor” to “very poor” have increased from 27% to 32%”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence includes irrelevant results about Samsung phones, global road quality indices, and fibre connectivity, but contains no data on Johannesburg's road condition percentages.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Subscribe Here https://goo.gl/Qp13QnCamera used Canon T5i https://amzn.to/2FI0qcXHow to fix file not transfer from samsung galaxy a12 a32 A52 s20.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMUZxTwSvb8
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web search NEUTRAL — However, some countries have better road quality than others.Although the United States has the most roads in the world, it does not have the highest road quality rating. Currently, the country with t…
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/road-qual…
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web search NEUTRAL — A higher connectivity rate in a region typically indicates that it was a good investment with a higher likelihood of producing a good return. South Africa’s 34.4% connectivity rate means around a thir…
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/fibre/462230-connectivity-rat…
info
“the 2,881km of road classified as fair requires preventative maintenance”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided consists of mathematical definitions of the number 2 and is completely irrelevant to Johannesburg road classifications.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The number 2 is the second natural number, after 1. Each natural number, including 2, is constructed by succession, that is, by adding 1 to the previous natural number.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 24, 2026 · A West Arabic numeral, ultimately from Indic numerals (compare Devanagari २ (2)), from a cursive form of two lines to represent the number two. See 2 § Evolution for more.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/2
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The number two (2) is the second positive integer and the first prime number. It is even, and is the only even prime (the primes other than 2 are called the odd primes). The number 2 is also equal to …
https://mathworld.wolfram.com/2.html
info
“preventative resealing costs about R1.7m/km, while rehabilitation pushes the cost up to R10m/km. Full reconstruction of badly damaged roads can cost as much as R15m/km”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided discusses road projects in Uganda and physics problems, but does not contain the specific cost estimates for JRA resealing, rehabilitation, or reconstruction.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — of 214.2 km. roads (55.1 km) opened compared to base. B- Resealing of 6 resealed.bituminous road shoulders from 5.6m/km to less than 3.0. between Gayaza Gayaza to Kalagi m/km for paved and 16.
https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Projec…
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web search NEUTRAL — While moving uphill on the road at a speed of 10 m/s , the car needs power p. If it needs power p2 while moving downhill at speed v, then value of v is. see full answer.Watch 3-min video & get full co…
https://infinitylearn.com/questions/physics/car-weight-w-inc…
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web search NEUTRAL — The distance d in meters (m) is equal to the distance d in kilometers (km) times 1000
https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/length/km-to-meter.html
info
“The city currently has about 3,006km of roads classified as poor, while a further 1,002km fall into the very poor category”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided refers to Forza Horizon 5, general African infrastructure diagnostics, and Swedish road fatalities, with no mention of the specific kilometerage of poor/very poor roads in Johannesburg.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Your ultimate 2025 Forza Horizon 5 Best Cars for each class guide with tunes from the best drivers in the game which work on Ps5, Xbox and PC!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4X_VB-11m8
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web search NEUTRAL — Encyclopedia of the Nations » World Statistics » The Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic - Transport -Roads-Freight-km, classified road network (million ton-km/year) ».
https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/WorldStats/AICD-transpor…
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web search NEUTRAL — Today, Sweden has some of the lowest rates of road traffic fatalities in the world, and the story of how the country has strived to bring that number to zero provides a lesson for other countries wher…
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240517-vision-zero-how-…
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“the city’s roads and related infrastructure backlog now stands at R115bn”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources explicitly mention the R115bn maintenance backlog for Johannesburg's infrastructure: 'Joburg's crumbling roads fuel R115bn maintenance backlog' and 'The hidden costs of infrastructure backlogs for CoJ'.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In general, infrastructure has been defined as "the physical components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions" …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure
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web search NEUTRAL — Johannesburg is losing out on many of the benefits it could be getting from planned densification - despite the fact that it has had a comprehensive Spatial Development Framework (SDF) in place since …
https://www.firzt.co.za/news/the-hidden-costs-of-infrastruct…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) previously flagged its concern that of the 902 bridges managed by the city, only 6% were in good condition. It said the remaining 94% needed immediate intervention.
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-02-18-joh…
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“The two largest backlogs are in catchments, dams and stormwater infrastructure (R61bn) and roads (R37.7bn)”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources confirm these specific figures: one explicitly states the R61bn (stormwater) and R37.7bn (roads) split, and another confirms the R61.2bn figure for catchments, dams, and stormwater.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The two largest backlogs are in catchments, dams and stormwater infrastructure (R61bn) and roads (R37.7bn). Illegal mining activities in and around the city are also causing significant damage to road…
https://www.sundaytimes.timeslive.co.za/news/2026-05-09-jobu…
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web search NEUTRAL — ''The cost for bridges is estimated at R16bn while sidewalk infrastructure is R2bn. Catchments, dams and stormwater infrastructure have a backlog of R61.2bn,'' said Modingoane. Speaking of road infras…
https://thejoburgreporter.com/2024/05/04/is-johannesburgs-in…
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web search NEUTRAL — Infrastructure collapse in Johannesburg A particularly pressing issue in the City of Johannesburg is infrastructure collapse which threatens most areas.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/821603/south-afri…
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“These activities are also affecting Johannesburg Water’s work in Mooi Street, where repairs to the Selby water infrastructure are under way”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute this claim.
help
“The reinstatement of Wemmer Pan Road at a cost of R69m”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute this claim.
schedule
“The rehabilitation of John and Webber streets in Selby at a cost of R125m”
PENDING
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“The rehabilitation of Nick Toomey Boulevard in Roodepoort at a cost of R25m”
PENDING
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“The outlook for the city’s 902 bridges is equally bleak. Only 22 are classified as being in very good condition, while 557 are in poor condition and 150 are rated very poor”
PENDING
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“The entity is requesting a capital expenditure budget of R1,3bn for infrastructure projects in the next financial year, along with an operational budget of R2bn”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.