Update Video
GEORGE NEWS & VIDEO - A small group of Caledon Street residents have met with an attorney to discuss the possibility of legal action against the George Municipality for losses suffered as a result of the road works in their street.
The rebuilding of the road began in June last year and was supposed to have been completed within about four months.
Almost a year later the project is not finished yet. Sections of the revamped road were dug up again when tests revealed failure in some layers. Work on the last section of the street, from the Getafix Cafe entrance to the railway line, started two weeks ago.
The rest of the street also still has to be finished off with a final asphalt layer, so the road surface remains rough and uneven, especially where side roads connect with Caledon Street.
Guesthouse owners and Getafix Cafe owner Michelle Cawood-Van Vuuren said visitor numbers have dwindled to a trickle.
Watch a video below.
Driveways and vehicles have been damaged and they have now suffered the inconvenience of noise and dust for far too long. Expenditure incurred by the municipality - that is, the ratepayers - is also an aspect that they want to obtain clarity about, as well as the content of the contract between the contractor, from Bloemfontein, and the municipality.
Attorney George Whitehead explained that litigation is very expensive and other ways of obtaining compensation should first be exhausted. He asked residents to provide him with substantiating information regarding their losses.
In the meantime he would be trying to obtain the contract between George Municipality and the contractor. Cawood-Van Vuuren said she has had enough of the municipality that is not interested in responding to her formal complaints.
She has had to cancel several events, including the regular Friday night market, because of shrinking visitor figures. The Voortrekker movement said there have been several booking cancellations for their hall.
Civil engineering department chief director Reggie Wesso declined to attend the meeting, but said that complainants could make an appointment to see him at his office.
The meeting was held on Wednesday night at Getafix Cafe in the Garden Route Botanical Garden.
Read a related article: Efforts to complete Caledon at 'earliest possible date'
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
