Rai Coast highway flooded and overgrown

THE Madang-Rai Coast national highway no longer looks like a national highway as much of the road is covered by bush and many fast flowing rivers are without bridges.
It is the only road that links all the villages in the Rai Coast district in Madang province.
Timothy Nawuira, a senior teacher of Male Primary School in the Astrolabe Bay of Saidor district, said the people from the area had never travelled by vehicle from their own village to other parts of the province.
He said there were about 10 fast flowing rivers and 20 small creeks.
Few of the smaller rivers have bridges while the fast flowing rivers do not have any bridges at all, he said
He said PNG gained its Independence many years ago but nothing had been done to improve the infrastructural services in the area.
“Even though Rai Coast is on the mainland, we think that we are on an island as our only mode of travelling is by sea,” he said.