Orange Grove pensioner still displaced 6 years after collapse

An 81-year-old Orange Grove resident remains unable to return to her home six years after a municipal stormwater culvert collapsed beneath the property.

Sherley Markowitz was forced to leave the Johannesburg property after the collapse in 2020 damaged part of her home and destroyed a hairdressing salon she operated there. Daily Maverick reported on 20 September that Markowitz remains displaced following multiple court proceedings involving the City of Johannesburg. Daily Maverick investigation

JRA project remains unresolved

The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has previously identified the Orange Grove culvert as ageing stormwater infrastructure requiring rehabilitation. Its 2023/24 business plan estimated the project at R100 million and recorded that a residential property had collapsed into the failing culvert.

According to the JRA response reported by Daily Maverick, the permanent rehabilitation project is still progressing through detailed design and contractual processes while funding is being secured.

‘The project is currently progressing through the outstanding detailed design and associated contractual processes required before construction can commence,’ the JRA said.

The agency said construction could take about 18 months once work begins, while a definitive start and completion date cannot currently be confirmed.

Joburg Etc previously reported on the Miles Stoker Road sinkhole in Roodepoort in July 2023. JRA records from 2023 also listed the Orange Grove collapsed stormwater culvert among projects where litigation was ongoing. The Orange Grove case follows other stormwater infrastructure failures in Johannesburg, including the collapse of a culvert on Kilburn Street in Roodepoort, where the City later undertook a R32 million rehabilitation project.

For Markowitz, the unresolved infrastructure project means her return home remains uncertain six years after the collapse.