Johannesburg’s road infrastructure crisis could now cost more than R115 billion to fully repair, according to recent municipal assessments and reporting, underscoring how years of deterioration, vandalism, and underinvestment have pushed the city’s transport network into a critical state. The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), which is responsible for maintaining the metro’s road system, has warned that a significant portion of the city’s more than 13,000km road network is now in poor or very poor condition, with damage accelerating faster than repairs can be completed.
The scale of the problem has been publicly acknowledged by JRA chief executive officer Zweli Nyathi, who has pointed to a combination of ageing infrastructure, funding constraints, and external damage as key contributors to the crisis. Speaking during an interview on 702 with radio host Bongani Bingwa, Nyathi addressed the growing concern around illegal mining activity beneath parts of the city and its impact on surface infrastructure.
Nyathi said, “It’s up to law enforcement to deal with the zama zamas digging under the City of Johannesburg, damaging the roads,” highlighting that some of the destruction affecting road stability is linked to illegal underground mining activity. The remarks point to a growing challenge faced by the city where surface infrastructure is being compromised not only by traffic and ageing materials, but also by subsurface disturbances that weaken road foundations.
The JRA has repeatedly stressed that the problem facing Johannesburg’s roads is not limited to potholes and surface cracks, but includes deeper structural failures. In many cases, road layers and drainage systems have deteriorated to the point where temporary patching is no longer effective, requiring full-scale reconstruction. Engineers within the agency have warned that repeated short-term fixes are unsustainable and ultimately more expensive than planned rehabilitation.
According to municipal figures and infrastructure reviews cited in recent reporting, Johannesburg’s road network has shifted into a reactive maintenance cycle, where repairs are only carried out once significant damage has already occurred. This approach has contributed heavily to the ballooning cost estimate, with analysts suggesting that restoring the network to acceptable standards could exceed R115 billion when full rehabilitation is considered.
The City of Johannesburg, one of South Africa’s largest metropolitan economies, is also facing simultaneous infrastructure pressures across water, electricity, and transport systems. Budget constraints have forced the municipality to prioritise urgent repairs over long-term upgrades, widening the gap between what is needed and what can realistically be delivered.
Officials within the JRA have noted that thousands of potholes are reported each year across the city, and while individual repairs may appear minor in cost, the cumulative financial burden is substantial. These temporary fixes often fail within months due to ongoing traffic stress and underlying structural weakness, creating a cycle of repeated intervention rather than lasting resolution.
Urban growth has further intensified the strain on the system. Roads originally designed for lower traffic volumes now carry significantly higher commuter and freight loads, accelerating wear and reducing the lifespan of key transport corridors. This has placed additional pressure on the city’s maintenance budget and increased the urgency of large-scale rehabilitation planning.
Despite ongoing repair programmes, Zweli Nyathi and other city officials have acknowledged that funding remains far below what is required to fully address the backlog. The result is a widening infrastructure gap that continues to grow year after year.
For residents and businesses in the City of Johannesburg, the impact is increasingly visible in daily commutes, vehicle damage, and rising transport costs. Logistics operators and commuters alike have raised concerns that deteriorating road conditions are affecting productivity and increasing operational expenses in South Africa’s economic hub.
While the JRA continues with targeted rehabilitation and emergency repairs, officials have cautioned that without sustained investment, stronger enforcement against illegal underground activity, and a shift toward preventative maintenance, Johannesburg’s road network will continue to decline, pushing the eventual cost of repair even higher than current estimates.
