Rivers the main focus in plan to build bridges that can last

By LUKE KAMA
Department of Works and Implementation will undertake river works training at Yung Creek and try to divert the flow back to its natural course, Works Secretary David Wereh says.
Wereh told The National yesterday that the impacts of climate change were putting pressure on the country’s existing roads and bridges because their engineering design during construction did not cater for that.
“The Works Department is trying its best to meet up these challenges with limited funding that is available to us,” he said.
“One of the areas is the Yung Creek in the Markham Valley which has flooded and burst its banks, affecting the Watarais section of the Highlands Highway and local communities.
“The Works Department is aware of it and that is something we have never experienced before and, therefore, the Works Department will undertake a major river training works and re-divert the flow back to its natural course way.”
Wereh said a contractor would soon be engaged to fix that part of the highway.
“We need to apply some advance engineering designs now, taking into account the impacts of climate change,” he said.
“Look at the bridge infrastructures that we built in Northern and the East New Britain provinces.
“We usually hear floods carrying away bridges of these two provinces but now regardless of the prolonged rainfall, we have never heard of any reports of such.
“This is a testament to the Works Department’s approach to build climate-resilient bridge and road infrastructures and a similar concept will be applied to upgrading the Highlands Highway on a 10-year programme at the cost of K3 billion which the Government has secured from the Asian Development Bank from this year.”
Wereh said a team from the Works Department visited the Bulolo Highway and seen the needs. Contractors would soon be engaged to carry out emergency work, including undertaking major river training works to re-divert the flow back to its natural course way, he said.