The Johannesburg Roads Agency Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Zweli Nyathi, has sought to address concerns about delays in reopening Lilian Ngoyi Street in Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD).

Nearly two years after an underground gas explosion tore it apart, the street has finally undergone major repairs.

The city has completed phase one of reconstruction at a cost of about R82 million, with paving bricks replacing traditional tar.

Despite the milestone, the road will only open to traffic from next Friday, once contractors finish final work on the sidewalks.

Video |Lillian Ngoyi Street to officially reopen next week:

Officials say phase two will begin immediately, with more than R110 million allocated to continue upgrades through to 2026.

Nyathi says extreme rains in recent months delayed the work.

“Just five months ago, there was rain for two months, that the whole channel was full of water. If it’s not dry, you cannot work. We had to come with other means of technology and added more manpower. So, we did put a catch-up plan to meet the August deadline, but other small areas couldn’t be met timeously. But it really challenged us having contractors having to wait till it’s dry. And we lost a lot of time,” adds Nyathi.

PODCAST | JRA nearing the completion of the first phase of the Lillian Ngoyi Street rehabilitation project: