Traffic flow back to normal

 By PETER ESOP WARI

TRAFFIC flow at the collapsed steel bridge in Nipa, Southern Highlands, is back to normal after repairs were carried out last weekend.

Engineers from the Defence Force and the Works Department in Mendi began work on the bridge last Friday and finished on Sunday.

Work began after peace talks with locals who wanted to have a permanent bridge built instead.

Nipa-Kutubu district administrator Joe Periap said the bridge was fixed allowing heavy vehicles to travel to the PNG LNG project sites in Hela. The bridge collapsed at 2am last Wednesday after two semi-trailers passed through to Hela.

Only lighter vehicles were able to pass through after locals piled stones and logs under the bridge as a foundation.

More than 300 vehicles travelling to Hela were queued at Nipa station while peace talks were held between the Nipa people, police and defence force officers.

Local Leslie Yapo said the locals had complained because permanent bridges had been built at other locations while the one in Nipa was jacked up to withstand the weight of heavy vehicles. He said the locals also brought up the poor state of the national highway.

“This road is leading to the home of the PNG LNG project site and it is really sad to see the road in such a poor state,” he said.

Em Hep, a health worker from the area, said roads and bridges were important to the development of a nation.