The Fiji Roads Authority is upgrading the national highways to make them more disaster resilient.

FRA Chief Executive Kamal Prasad says additional work includes putting in more pavement and running surfaces along with the key networks.

Given the frequency of cyclones and floods, large parts of the Kings and Queens highway will be strengthened.

‘‘We’re doing a little bit more now, we want to go in there one time and then come out so we’re putting a little bit more pavement on it and putting asphalt as the running surface because it’s our national highway, we need to start making it more resilient.”

The FRA has initially identified about 20 kilometers of road along the Queen’s Highway which need to be made resilient, with another 40 kilometers on the King’s Highway.

According to Prasad, this will continue until the FRA is confident that these national assets will be able to withstand natural disasters.

”It’s our main route, we need disaster resilience in this, we expect to go around Viti Levu, and until we finish ,we will continue going.”

The FRA has also moved some of its contractors from the Central Division to the West in order to keep up with the pace of work and stick to deadlines.