Enforcement officers from the Land Transport Authority have been deployed to monitor motorists using the new detour on Bau Tikina Road, said acting chief executive Aptinko Vaurasi.

He said LTA was working closely with the Fiji Roads Authority and Fulton Hogan Hiways, and LTA officers had set up operations at strategic locations to monitor vehicles using the new detour through Raralevu Village and Vuci Settlement.

“We need to keep in mind that the road goes through communal settlements so motorists please be mindful of the villagers on the roads, the children and animals when you’re passing along,” Mr Vaurasi said.

Mr Vaurasi said LTA would ban any vehicle that carried goods weighing over 18 tonnes, the maximum weight allowed to travel through the new detour.

“We are set up before the bridge and before the detour, and working both ends of the road, so we ensure that all vehicles travelling through adhere to the maximum weight allowed,” Mr Vaurasi said.

“Overweight vehicles can either offload and pass, or return to where they came from with their goods.”

The alternative route was opened to the public after a landslide resulting from December’s Tropical Depression 04 damaged a section of the Kings Road.

According to Mr Vaurasi, LTA teams are now working three shifts, on a 24-hour basis.

“We have been on site since January 7 and have been out to inspect the different bypasses into the area, so this factor has also been taken into consideration in our strategic setup,” he said.

Mr Vaurasi acknowledged the cooperation of drivers to date, a total of 262 heavy goods vehicles had been weighed on site and were found compliant.

Mr Vaurasi said the operation would continue for at least a few more months.

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