Weighbridge option for roads

By JIMMY KALEBE
THE installation of a weighbridge on major roads in the country can help reduce damage to them and perhaps prevent accidents, National Road Authority (NRA) chief executive officer Ponege Poya says.
The weighbridges would dictate the load a heavy duty truck could carry safely on the road without causing significant damage to it and other structures like bridges.
Poya spoke of the need for weighbridges at a two-day workshop on heavy vehicle loading toolkit in Lae.
“The overloading increases early deterioration of roads, maintenance costs and increased chances of causing accidents,” he said.
“That is why the weighbridge will determine the acceptable limit of load.”
Poya said after the introduction of weighbridge, a fine would be imposed for those exceeding the maximum load capacity. “We are not trying to go against the transport industry but to create awareness so that there is control when loading heavy trucks to minimise destruction and early deterioration to roads,” he said.
Currently, there is no such facility on major roads here apart from Lae and Port Moresby, he said, although there were plans and needs to do something similar in other provinces.
Poya said with the limited funding that NRA was supplied with it had to cover a lot of kilometres in road maintenance.
He said NRA could not do major rehabilitation or construction as that was the Department of Works’ job.
He pointed out that NRA only looked at basic routine maintenance such as vegetation control, drain-cleaning and others that often lead to roads deteriorating faster.
Meanwhile, representative from VicRoads Australia, Peter Frauenfelder, said overloading was an issue that a regulatory programme with support from the government could enforce.
He urged the transport industry in the country to understand the challenges the road agencies faced so that damage could be minimised.
With the introduction of the weighbridge, the provincial road traffic authority will be tasked to oversee the loads on trucks, issue permits and ensure compliance.