The Mpumalanga Department of Public Works will rehabilitate the deteriorated R36 between Machadodorp and Mashishing in Mpumalanga in the 2014/15 financial year.

According to department spokesman Dumisani Malamule, the road has now deteriorated to the point where patching is no longer a feasible option. The deterioration of the road is largely due to the large number of heavy trucks from mines using it.

This comes after Lydenburg Guest Farm owner Alison Botha and volunteer teacher Rosie Morrison published photos of Morrison taking a bath in one of the potholes on the R36.

“This specific road, the R36 between Machadodorp and Mashishing, has been unusable for years now and it’s mainly because there are 40-ton trucks that make use of the road every day due to a lack of railway structure. It is the responsibility of government to fix this road,” Botha told News24.

The MEC is expected to announce the plans for the provincial road network during the 2014/15 Policy and Budget Speech.