Porgera Joint Venture repairs Waibare Bridge

Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) has repaired a broken transom on the Waibare Bridge in the Laiagam district, Enga.
Without causing much disruption to traffic along the Laiagam-Porgera national highway, the PJV team managed to undertake the task within a day on Dec 7, enabling traffic to resume in the afternoon.
The PJV community relations and engagement team had reported the condition of the bridge on Nov 29 after noticing loose steel decking with one already having fallen off.
PJV senior safety specialist Sam Boko said the condition of the bridge prior to the maintenance was a result of load impact and wear and tear over time.
As the Waibare Bridge is part of the national highway, PJV informed the Enga Department of Works (DoW) of its intention
to repair the damages immediately.
Acting provincial works manager Stanley Ambrose was at the worksite and saw the maintenance work through to completion. The work was done in two stages.
On Nov 30 the PJV team welded the broken transom for temporary use to allow for prime movers to transport supplies, while the team sought a new transom back at the mine site.
The second stage took place on Dec 7 when the PJV team replaced the welded transom with a new one providing sufficient support to the bridge decking.