Yalu Bridge upgrade underway

National

CHINA Railway International (CRI) has assisted the Works Department by upgrading the foundation of the Yalu Bridge.
The bride is located about 15km outside Lae along the Okuk Highway in the Wampar local level government in the Huon Gulf district of Morobe.
Elijah Gawi, a worker with CRI, told The National last Saturday that they were assisting Works  Department to upgrade the foundation of the bridge because it was unstable.
Gawi said the foundation of the bridge needed maintenance because floodwaters and erosion, coupled with activities of heavy machinery and vehicles, had removed soil and caused cracks in the concrete.
“The Works people have come and seen that the problem was big and requested CRI to assist,” Gawi said.
“They requested us to maintain this bridge so that we can use it to move our machines.
“We are just assisting the Works Department.”
“We are not being paid any money for this maintenance, it is like a community service we are doing for the community.”
Gawi said they would divert the river and pour cement into the foundation of the bridge to harness it.
He and 13 men were working on the bridge using two excavators and a dump truck.
CRI is currently engaged in constructing the first phase of the million kina Lae-Nadzab four-lane highway.
Their base is near the Yalu Bridge so the company frequently uses the bridge to transport its machinery to and from Lae, where it is engaged in construction of the  four-lane highway.