With the election in 2024 approaching rapidly, a flurry of street-rehabilitation projects and repairs is once again taking place in Louis Trichardt.

The good news for motorists is that the busy intersection at Stubbs and Krogh Street reopened last week after being closed on 23 October for a complete rebuild, with the municipality opting to replace the tarred roadway with paving. The intersection was supposed to reopen on 3 November, but the project ran late for reasons unknown to the newspaper as the Makhado Municipality once again failed to respond to media inquiries. The contractor for the project was N&C Civils. As far as the newspaper could determine, the contract amount for the rebuilding of the intersection totalled R6 million from the municipality’s own income. This information is according to the municipality's own Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP) for the 2023/24 financial year.

Almost overnight, Barnard Street between Schimper Crescent and De Vaal Street was also ripped out this past weekend. This specific section of street has become almost undriveable and is the first section of the street to receive attention in the form of a complete rebuild. As far as could be determined, the contractor is PJMJ Engineering & Plant Hire. The contract amount is R7 million for the whole project, once again coming from the municipality’s own income as per their SDBIP.

Residents along Stubbs Street, between Krogh and Anderson, also received notice last week that this section of the road will be closed between 21 November and 15 December for rehabilitation. This is bad news for some, such as the Dutch Reformed Church Soutpansberg, which is hosting its annual Christmas Market this Saturday. The church’s main entrance is on Stubbs Street. The congregation was not aware of the planned project. Residents can gain entry to the Christmas market either through the small gate to the church grounds on Anderson Street or the second main entrance to the church grounds on Louis Botha Street. As of Wednesday morning, construction work on Stubbs Street, as indicated in the notice to residents, had not yet started. Again, the contractor is N&C Civils.

In June this year, municipal spokesperson Louis Bobodi indicated that Phase 1 of street rehabilitation and repairs for Grobler, Kleynhans, and Erasmus Street had already been completed. At that stage, Devenish, Hlanganani, Baobab, and parts of Grobler, President, and Kruger Street were being rehabilitated.

Bobodi also confirmed that the municipality was busy patching potholes in Leopard, Leeu, Buffel, Einde, Louis Botha, Eiland, and Rissik Street. As for other streets to be rehabilitated during the 2023/24 financial year, Bobodi said at that stage that these streets included Rissik, Unika, Songozwi, Barnard, Snyman, Malva, and part of Grobler, as well as paving at the four-way intersection on the corner of Stubbs and Krogh Street. The latter has now been completed, with Barnard Street in the process of being rehabilitated.