Fridge becomes DIY road sign for Gqeberha’s persistent pothole menace

A white fridge sits in the middle of Stanford Road, just a few hundred metres from Gelvandale High School. But this isn’t a case of illegal dumping – it’s a makeshift warning sign, placed there by residents to alert motorists to a massive pothole that has become a growing hazard on one of Gqeberha’s main arteries.

The waterlogged pothole is more than a metre wide and is in the left lane where it is barely visible, especially in bad weather.

Located about 900m from Gelvandale High School towards Cleary Park shopping centre, there are no cones, no tape, no official hazard signs – just the old fridge that residents dragged into the road as a warning sign. 

Helenvale resident, Jonathan Baartman, says that after witnessing a number of accidents caused by the pothole, residents decided to place the old fridge there. It had been found discarded at one of the illegal dumping sites in the area. 

“When we sit up here (on a hill overlooking the road) we see everything. We see unsuspecting cars coming from the N2, driving this way and hitting their brakes when they see the pothole, but it’s often too late. They try to swerve into the right lane, but end up bumping other cars because it’s always busy here, or they end up damaging their own cars,” he explained.

Ward 32 councillor Pieter Hermaans says it has been an ongoing problem for years. The pothole was last repaired earlier this year but resurfaced and worsened about two months ago.

“We are aware of that pothole, and we report it every two weeks since it resurfaced. It has been fixed multiple times, but the problem is the underground water – it opens up that pothole again just a few months after being repaired,” he said.

Councillor Ingrid van Wyk, from neighbouring Ward 13, explained that the pothole is a result of an ongoing sewerage and stormwater infrastructure issue.

“As we all know, the Helenvale infrastructure was not built for the number of residents currently living in the area. The infrastructure within the ward [which is near the busy road] is too small for the capacity it needs to support, therefore infrastructure is collapsing. The failure by the municipality to maintain infrastructure is [leading] to such problems. This is a complete collapse of the infrastructure within the area,” she said.

She added that the DA has been reporting and following up on the issue monthly. The matter was also being escalated through the standing committee, “because this cuts across multiple disciplines, such as Roads and Transport, Water and Sanitation, and possibly Electricity”.

Ricardo Peterson, an employee at Tyre Xpress, a nearby tyre and car parts shop, says not a week goes by without a customer coming in to repair damage caused by the pothole.

“At least two customers come in here every week, frustrated by the ugly surprise of that pothole. Many of them stop first at the fuel station down the road, then get referred here. It’s terrible – they always complain about having to pay for damage they could have avoided if there was a warning sign. At this point, we can even tell just from their facial expressions when a customer is coming in because of that pothole,” he said.

Another resident, Mercia Swanepoel, says she often worries about people using the pothole as a dumping ground.

“We have so many illegal dumping sites in our communities, and they all start slowly. My biggest fear is seeing such a busy road ending up with a section that’s become a dump. No man!”

In response, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said: “The pothole is part of the scheduled service plans for the area and will be fully repaired within the next two weeks.”

In the meantime, motorists who are unaware of the pothole might still experience costly accidents.

Just days ago, the municipality announced a major investment of nearly half a billion rand into the city’s roads and transport infrastructure for the 2025/26 financial year.

“Under the banner of the People’s Budget, the municipality has allocated R493.8-million to the Roads and Transport Department, with a strong focus on tarring roads, improving stormwater systems and rehabilitating bridges,” Soyaya added.

According to the municipality, the aim of this investment is to ensure pedestrians and motorists have access to safer, more reliable roads across the metro.

Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Siyanda Manana said the department was aware of the pothole, and that ambulances travelling on the road usually use the bus lane when traffic is heavy. 

“Motorists know to move for emergency vehicles, and the bus lane also helps (ambulances) get to emergencies in time,” he said. DM