News

$2b needed to fix roads damaged by overloading

July 21, 2019 7:12 am

More than two-billion dollars will be needed to fix roads damaged by years of uncontrolled overloading.

Infrastructure Minister Jone Usamate says the objective of the Government is to better the transport network and have an internationally recognized infrastructure.

He says overloading is a major problem for the infrastructure industry as it drastically reduces the lifespan of road networks and bridges.

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“Sealed roads that have been decimated by decades of uncontrolled overloading and negligible maintenance will require an investment of over $2 billion. It will take quite many years to bring all this to an acceptable standard that we want.”

Fiji Roads Authority Chief Executive, Jonathan Moore says there is a need to adhere to the load limits.

“If everybody observes the load limit and you take the $200m a year and re-invest it into the economy grows.”

The FRA is working with the Land Transport Authority to address this issue.