'It is terrifying': Joburg's 'largest' sinkhole swallows residential home's driveway

It is only a matter of time before a vehicle drives over the edge and falls inside what appears to be one of the largest sinkholes in Johannesburg.

This is according to the homeowner whose driveway has been swallowed by a sinkhole, which initially started as a small hole in front of her gate in Loch Avenue in Parktown.

Alison Gaylard, who has been living in the property for about 10 years, is hoping the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) will fix the sinkhole while there is still a portion of her driveway left intact.

The problem of the sinkhole started about a year ago. At the time, it was just a small hole on the side of the road close to her property, but it gradually got bigger.

She subsequently escalated the matter to the City of Johannesburg, and though it took a long time to attend to the problem, JRA officials eventually filled the hole.

At the time, she was told that it was a leaking pipe and it had been repaired. She thought the problem was solved.

“After the first rain of the season in September or October last year, the hole just appeared again. It was as if they did nothing and later on, they admitted that they had done a very poor job because the repairs didn’t last,” she said.

She said since the problem resurfaced, she has been in contact with JRA, which she commended for its good communication and for being responsive to her queries.

“JRA came in January and they weren’t sure what the issue was. They had to dig up, as you can see, half of the street; they have to close off this road, but nothing much has happened. This hole has been on this side for about a month now. You can see that we can hardly get our cars in and out.

“We are scared that with more rain it's going to get bigger and we won't be able to access our property. I am very scared, it is terrifying, I can’t have visitors, because I can’t guarantee that their cars are going to be safe,” she said.

She added that last week due to persistent rain, JRA officials couldn't be on site but on Monday morning the entity visited the area and started the work.

“I am glad to see that they are here but I am not seeing much progress. I see a lot of people standing around looking at it. I am not seeing any progress, or there is very little progress, and we are now getting desperate,” she said.

She added that JRA indicated that they fixed the burst sewerage pipe which caused the problem two weeks ago. She said they were still able to drive in and out but “it is very scary.”

Local ward councillor Kyle Jacobs said the JRA has inspected the sinkhole and was attempting to carry out repairs.

“I have escalated the issue to them and engaged the JRA depot manager, who advised that the sinkhole is being caused by underground water seepage. He said they were trying to identify the source of the seepage, as it is the main cause of the sinkhole and is hindering their repair efforts,” he said.

He added that he had sent a follow-up request for further feedback from the JRA team and they advised that the seepage was caused by a broken Johannesburg Water sewer pipe, which has since been repaired.

“However, recent bad weather delayed further repair work. They have confirmed that work will resume during the week of February 24, as the weather has improved and the rain has stopped,” he said.

Jacobs said he would continue to monitor the progress of the JRA's repair work to ensure the issue is resolved and the road is fully reinstated.