Update on Lae roads

From GEORGE GWARE

Just to give you all some update on progress of current works, I have pasted below extracts from Last Friday’s Lae Chamber of Commerce newsletter.

It is a nightmare driving in Lae. 

Some of us put up with it everyday but we should not accept this as NORMAL. 

It is not and we deserve better.

Apart from the financing issues, there is also the tender process which fails to award contracts to competent service providers. 

Why would the tender board (I think it is the provincial board) award contract to a contractor who has not provided any design? 

Refer below – MARKHAM ROAD JUNCTION TO SEVENTH STREET ROUNDABOUT. 

The contractor is EAST WEST 1 and is owned by an Asian who is a naturalised citizen. 

 I know East West 1’s core business was in mechanical repairs but now…civil works?

 They ripped up the road in June but have not done any work since. 

With the recent rain, the road down hill is worst than driving through a rural plantation road.

With the scarce financial resources and the deteriorating road conditions, why can’t the tender board for ONCE, do the right thing and engage only competent contractors?

Quality of work and supervision from the government’s engineer is not there. 

How can we tax payers get value for our money? 

If you think money is our only problem, think again.

LAE ROAD WORKS – HUON ROAD

SEVENTH STREET ROUNDABOUT TO ADMIN COMPOUND

This is a follow up report from Dekenai Constructions (PNG) Limited of the Plans and Progress on the work being undertaken on this section of Huon Road.

·        Continuation of culvert placement, drainage works, footpaths etc. all subject to weather.

·        Continue to grade road to reduce potholes.

Dekenai still asks all drivers to slow down along this section of Huon Road whilst construction is in process. They do not want to close off the road but will be forced to do so if it gets too dangerous.

MARKHAM ROAD JUNCTION TO SEVENTH STREET ROUNDABOUT

At least the contractor put his grader to good use this week and graded the downhill section so that traffic could get through. Apart from this no designs have yet been provided to allow the construction work to begin.

LAE TO NADZAB SECTION OF THE HIGHWAY

Under the HHRMP (Highlands Highway Road Maintenance Program) Shorncliffe PNG Ltd have continued to maintain the worst sections of the Highway from Lae to Nadzab, which was damaged in the recent heavy rains. They will manage these sections to a reasonable standard, until it is dry enough to repair properly.

This morning the grader was sent in to the 4-Mile section which had become a bit rough again, and slowed down the traffic. Gravel was used and the grader levelled off the worst sections.

MARKHAM ROAD JUNCTION WITH BUMBU ROAD

Whilst traffic currently has difficulty negotiating this junction, we can look forward to a positive outcome. The National Roads Authority is committed to making a permanent solution to this junction. The sandbagging exercise continues, so as to establish the best size and location for a roundabout to be constructed. When this has been decided, then work will commence on making a cement road and roundabout.

Unfortunately the weather is against the sandbagging exercise as the sandbags become waterlogged and break easily. This exercise is not helped by vehicles taking short cuts over the bags or on the wrong side.

When the cementing of the road actually starts, the contractor has been instructed to keep one side open at all times, to allow traffic to have continued access, along the Highway as well as to the ancillary roads.

The NRA will also maintain the section of the Highway between the Church Street junction to the Boundary Road roundabout.

LAE ROADS

The LCCI has continued to engage in an exercise with the Lae City Urban LLG Engineers, to do a cost analysis for repairing the road network for the whole of the Lae City. The roads have been categorised and the costs apportioned depending on the different degrees of urgency, using recognised road maintenance and road construction formulas.

It is hoped that the funding of the roads will be addressed with the National Planning Office.

In the meantime the City Council will be trying to keep the roads at least trafficable, by grading and rolling the worst sections, and gravelling the worst potholes. The main areas of concentration will be the residential roads opposite the Polytechnical College, and the Kwila Road and the other residential roads in this area. These residential roads have been damaged by excessive use by vehicles, avoiding the worst sections of the main roads.