Maintenance work on highway to start, says Wereh

By GYNNIE KERO
REHABILITATION work on the Lae-Madang highway, including the replacement of single lane bridges, is expected to start this month, says Works Secretary David Wereh.
The National had asked him to explain the K100 million funding by the Asian Development Bank for the maintenance of this national highway.
It follows heavy rain this week in the Usino-Bundi electorate in Madang which damaged roads.
MP Jimmy Uguro said people had to pay to use the temporary bypass after a section of the road had collapsed.
Uguro said six bridges were on the brink of collapsing.
He said the K100 million should immediately be used to fix the roads and the bridges.
“There is a road disaster in Usino Bundi. Many passengers are stranded. This is not first time. I urge passengers and vehicle owners to take precautions when travelling,” he said. “Locals built a bypass and are collecting K50 and K100 from people (to use).”
He urged locals to assist people passing through.
Wereh said contracts had been awarded last year and a contractor was engaged to fix the road problem.
“The work includes the replacement of the single-lane bridges to be weather-resilient, and the two-lane bridges to withstand (bad) weather conditions.
“We experienced some delay to the start of the work because of the payment from the financiers of the project.
“Representatives of the financiers are in the country. We have this week resolved the payment issues.
“We have bridge infrastructure that is overdue of replacement on our main highways. They are exposed to natural disasters.”