Sinkholes are collapsing major roads, opening up inside luxurious residential properties and even beneath shops and factories as illegal miners tunnel under Johannesburg, forcing businesses and residents to spend small sums on emergency repairs and temporary infrastructure to continue operating.
In parts of Johannesburg, roads are collapsing into underground voids, factories are being cut off from transport routes, sinkholes are opening up inside residential properties, and businesses in busy commercial corridors are discovering tunnels beneath their premises, as illegal miners remove support pillars that were once designed to stabilize the ground above.
During an inspection tour last week with the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) and Mayoral Committee Member (MMC) responsible for Transport, Kenny Kunene, the media toured some of the areas that are now being destabilized by illegal mining activity beneath the city surface.
From Roodepoort and Booysens to Wemmer and Witpoortjie, the damage is spreading far beyond abandoned mine dumps – the city of Johannesburg faces infrastructure rebuilding costs likely to run into the billions, while residents and businesses warn that the crisis is growing faster than authorities are aware.
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The journey began in Roodepoort on Nick Toomey Road, which was once a major route connecting Main Reef Road and Ontdeckers Road.
The road has been closed since 2019 and now lies deserted, overgrown with weeds and completely impassable after years of landslides linked to illegal mining beneath the area.
Ward 127 councilor, KK Tabane, said traffic flow has been disrupted due to the bandh…