There has to be a better way to save roads

TALKS about the installation of weighbridges on major roads in the country to help reduce damage and prevent accidents should have been done years ago.
Discussions at a two-day workshop on heavy vehicle-loads pointed out that overloading trucks had caused serious damages and deterioration to roads.
One cannot deny that besides the impact of the weather, the movement on our roads by overloaded vehicles was a contributing factor to the rapid deterioration of the road pavements.
This in turn results in sharp increases in the vehicle operating costs, time delay costs and maintenance costs, thereby increasing transport costs.
Since Independence, the Government, together with our co-operating partners, has committed a significant amount of funds to our roads, which presently have an asset value worth millions of kina.
This huge investment requires preservation and sustainable utilisation to ensure continued economic growth, both at national and regional level.
The cost of damage due to the operation of over-loaded vehicles on our road network is estimated at millions of kina per annum.
If the loads are not controlled, this cost has to be carried by the road users, which will require significant increases in the road-user charges.
And the installation of weighbridges is one way of addressing these concerns.
Weighbridge technology is essentially a road scale that is able to digitally record the weight of a vehicle and its contents.
Made of a steel and concrete combination, a complex scale is embedded in the structure that is connected to a digital weight indicator for simplified recording.
The Government, through the National Road Authority, has suggested a system that could ensure the optimum maintenance, rehabilitation and development of our road network.
The weighbridges must be installed in various places in the country in an effort to curb and minimise the number of overloaded vehicles on our national roads while similar structures should be are planned across the country.
Under the Road Transport Authority Act (2017), the Road Transport Authority is responsible for the regulatory oversight of all heavy vehicles permits, routes they travel, loads they carry and enforcements under the Act.
The authority is expected to install, manage, operate and enforce load limits along all the national roads through weigh bridges through the respective provincial governments.
The national Government should look at reviving the 9-Mile weigh station in Lae.
The weigh stations should have a positive impact in regulating major trucking and construction firms to prevent overloading or the use of unauthorised routes.
This then serves to help road upkeep and prevent unnecessary accidents.
The movement of big vehicles within city limits will also come under the microscope with measures including a routine policy for traffic guidelines for heavy vehicles.
Once the weighbridge is introduced, fines will imposed for those who exceed the maximum load capacity.
Many trucking companies may not agree because of the potential for delays at the weigh stations,
However, we are of the conviction that the reduction of overloaded vehicles will only be realised when dedicated and disciplined personnel such as road transport inspec-tors are around 24 hours a day.