By Rocky Issou
It’s been seven months since the Department of Works and National Highways warned users of the Veimauri Bridge along the Hiritano Highway in Central Province to be cautious of its deteriorating state.
In a visit back to his electorate Kairuku MP Peter Namea Isoaimo stopped to have a glimpse of the Veimauri Bridge and revealed that the Minister for Works and National Highways Solan Mirisin was aware of the issue.
“The Veimauri bridge which borders Kairuku and Hiri Koiari electorate in the Central province, the good Minister for Works Honourable Solan Mirisim is aware, he accompanied me here to this very location on or about November last Year, if we could kindly ask and remind him to ensure that his department does something about this” Isoaimo said.
On a daily basis hundreds of vehicles pass by the Veimauri bridge, a major supply vein for betel-nuts, fresh vegetables and sago into Port Moresby.
“It is an important national asset on the Hiritano Highway and it’s the responsibility of the National Minister for Department of Works and Highways so they could look into our plight and fix this bridge as soon as possible,” said Isoaimo
In November of last year, the Provincial Works Manager Gerard Ahuta told media that, the department had been engaged in sourcing the rectification work to enable the restoration of the bridge and warned that the bridge had been unsafe to cross especially by vehicles carrying heavy loads.
He added that the bridge abutment was vulnerable and would collapse under continuous heavy traffic, rain and flooding, vandalism and seismic activity, seven months on and the Veimauri Bridge is a ticking time bomb for a disaster to happen.
