A service delivery protest by residents of the Zandspruit informal settlement in Honeydew was still continuing by late Wednesday afternoon, Gauteng police said.
"The situation is still tense and the residents are still throwing stones at the police," Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said.
A police officer was slightly injured earlier in the day when he was hit on the head by a stone.
Dlamini said police used rubber bullets at some point to disperse the crowd, but they had merely moved closer to their shacks and kept throwing stones at officers who tried to remove rocks placed on Beyers Naude Drive.
He said 88 people had been arrested for public violence.
Traffic on Beyers Naude Drive and Peter Road was diverted to other roads on Wednesday morning after residents blocked the routes with rocks and burning tyres shortly before 6am.
Television footage showed protesters throwing stones at a police armoured vehicle near a bridge.
Johannesburg metro police spokesman Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar advised motorists to steer clear of the blocked routes.
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