Continuous Rain, Tidal Changes Pose Hurdle For Road Works, FRA Says

Continuous rainfall and tidal changes have posed a big hurdle in the progress and completion of road works at Queen Elizabeth Drive.

The Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) expect road works to be completed by December.

The authority’s chief executive officer, Kamal Prasad, said the amount of rainfall experienced in the Suva area had been the biggest obstacle in the progress of works over the past months.

“The amount of rain we get in such a short span is quite a lot,” he said.

“What we see is once the rain saturates, it saturates the road and we can’t work.”

He said their team had to work on services to improve drainage on the site to ensure work continues.

“We are putting in all the drains, the humps on the road; we are putting in our drainage pipes,” he said.

“Another issue is the tides because we are working by the beach.

“If the tide is high, water will not be able to get out.”

He said the authority was also continuing to upgrade and resurface roads in Suva.

“Our idea was to start right down south then go up through town, Lami, Samabula, Vatuwaqa, Muanikau and Laucala Beach.

“We have completed works on most of the areas and are progressing well. We have another set of crew in Tacirua Heights, Cunningham, Laucala Beach side and then Nasinu area.

“The number of contractors that we have, we are using them smartly.”