AN access road is expected to be opened up todayat the landslip covered section of the Highlands Highway at Daulo Pass in Eastern Highlands.
Chairman of the Daulo landowners association (DLA) John Kendinive yesterday told The National they allowed urgent clearance work to begin yesterday morning.
He said although they are to sign an agreement with the Works Department officials to facilitate for the Government to compensate them for environmental damages they felt for the welfare of the general public and for the common good of the organisations that rely on the highway.
Members of DLA this week demanded the Government to compensate them K300,000 prior to any clearance work to be carried out and pressured Eastern Highlands provincial works manager Steven Sapalo to sign the agreement to facilitate payment before any workcould to be carried out.
Covec Construction Co and Works Department engineers are working around the clock to open up a temporary access before they proceeded to clear the major debris and construct the by-pass.
Continuous down pour was likely to slow down the progress, but the whole portion of the highway was expected to be fully cleared by tomorrow.
At 5.30pm last Monday a major landslip covered a house and stopped smooth traffic along the highway.
This happened only three days after normal traffic was restored last Friday following the first landslip.