Rain hampers roadwork

Mere Naleba
Tuesday, November 27, 2012

THE changing weather pattern is a contributing factor to most deteriorating road conditions around the country.

Fiji Roads Authority manager change Mike Rudge said heavy rains were hampering roadworks.

"With so much of the road, bridge and jetty network one of the most difficult questions the FRA faces is what should be done first," he said.

"This is made more difficult by the fact that the current condition of the network is such that sections can rapidly deteriorate after periods of heavy rain."

Mr Rudge said the authority had identified sections of high priority sealed and unsealed roads in each division that they would focus on next year.

"We will also start to make progress addressing the backlog of bridge maintenance that is needed, one of the key things we will be concentrating on will be to improve the reliability of access to school for children in remote locations," he said.

Mr Rudge confirmed the authority would also review Suva's transportation needs which include improvements to streetlights and footpaths; a traffic study would also be conducted in Labasa and Lami.

"In addition to improving maintenance, we will also be looking at a range of improvements in and around Suva, looking at how we can improve traffic flow and safety on busy streets.

"We have also scheduled investigations into a new jetty at midpoint on Vanua Levu."