At last, they're going to build that road

build that road

People in Fiji, especially people with an interest in the tourist business, have been talking for years about replacing The Road— that hazardous, pot-holed, landslide-beset stretch between Nadi and Suva—with a decent highway. It seems at last that the talk is going to turn into action.

Fiji Minister for Communications, Works and Tourism, Mr. Charles Stinson—who’s borne the brunt of some pretty virulent criticism of The Road—announced in April that international tenders for a $l2 mil lion highway would be called next year.

He said it was hoped that actual work on the new route and its 60 mph highway would begin in 1971.

The highway is being designed by the London firm of consulting engineers of Messrs. Rendel, Palmer and Tritton, which has three road location engineers and two engineer ing geologists already in Fiji.

The firm’s project engineer, Mr.

K. E. Ainscow, and bridge design engineer, Mr. J. Chandler, both of London, have also visited Fiji re cently.

Mr. Stinson said it was hoped to call tenders this month for trial borings and site investigation to determine soil conditions, bridge foundation conditions and the loca tion of road construction material along the route.

Drilling rigs, for providing tech nical information for bridge design, should be operating by August or September. Eventually, there will be about 60 bridges between Suva and Nadi.

Mr. Stinson said a preliminary survey of possible routes between Suva and Naboutini had been com pleted. Detailed survey work and design work was progressing and engineers had begun pegging the centre line.

Over most of the section between Suva and Navua, the proposed route touches the existing road at only one or two points before joining the present route at the Navua Flats.

The stretch through Serua also touches the existing road in only one or two places.

Between Nadi and Sigatoka, engineers of the United Nations Transport Survey and Public Works Department are working on the highway.

He said preliminary work on the proposal to link Labasa and Savu savu was up to schedule—and it was possible that the route would run from the end of the Nakorotari road, south of Labasa, to the Vunidogoloa road on Natewa Bay.

Fiji Forest Industries Ltd. had already built several miles of road from Nakorotari and this would be incorporated in the new road. It was hoped surveyors would begin pegging the centre line by September and that construction of the 45-mile road would begin next year.