Wewak to undergo road upgrades

Upgrade to roads in Wewak town, East Sepik, will begin once the temporary road is completed, says East Sepik Governor Allan Bird.
“The back (Mongniol) road into Wewak town is being upgraded at the moment and once it is completed, we will then close the front section of the road which will go out on the tender shortly,” he said.
“With the front section, we will open up the existing drains underneath which were covered by previous contractors causing sea water to overflow and damage the road. “To counter this, three additional drains will be constructed.”
Bird said a particular stretch of the road from Ela Motors to Garamut, was damaged by king tides as a result of climate change and also the increase of number of vehicles using that particular section.
“So we are going to build seawalls in the front to protect the road and also we want to put concrete and raise this section of the road so it should last for maybe another 30 years,” he said.
Bird added that they also designed the road in such a way that if the seas come over the barrier, the drain would take the sea water away.
“This is the sort of work we are doing now, it is a little bit more complicated because the road is next to the sea,” he said.
“But the other work we are working on is we are trying to take over other land inside of Wewak.
“The ultimate plan over the next couple of years is to shift the central business district to where the new wharf will be built, transforming the face of the town,” Bird said.