14 January 2013
New bridges along West Guadalcanal past flood tests
Recently completed bridge and road works along West Guadalcanal road withstood heavy rain and local flooding this wet season and kept residents connected to Honiara.
Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Infrastructure and Development, Moses Virivolomo, said he was pleased that communities living in West Guadalcanal could still to travel into Honiara despite local flooding.
“The infrastructure work in West Guadalcanal fixed damage and strengthened roads and bridges following the 2010 floods. Those floods temporarily isolated more than 12,000 residents in West Guadalcanal from Honiara,” Mr Virivolomo.
The recently completed Poha Bridge which shows how river training fences keep water running under the bridge.
“The new bridges are stronger, so they can withstand flooding and importantly, the engineering works included “river training” which reinforced the banks of some of the rivers.”
Mr Virivolomo said he was disappointed to learn that sections of the river training fences at Tamboko and Sasa rivers were stolen.
“The fences are critical as they help ensure that the rivers continue to flow under the new bridges rather than damaging the river banks,” Mr Virivolomo said.
“This theft is unfortunate and MID is working with Police and the community to recover the removed parts of the fences. It is important that communities understand that destruction or removal of the river fences may impact on the long term viability of the bridge, and therefore access to Honiara.”
Mr Virivolomo said the purpose of the fences was to ensure the waterway stays on its current course, running under the new bridges.
“The fences play a vitally important role. Without the fences, there is a risk that the river will move either east or west of the bridge when in flood. This would result in loss of connectivity with Honiara and access to services which is what happened in 2009 and again in 2010.”
The road works along West Guadalcanal are part of the Solomon Islands Road Improvement Project (SIRIP) Phases 1 and 2 which is improving and maintaining 120 km of roads and building or upgrading over 70 bridges and other water crossings. SIRIP is managed by the Solomon Islands Government and the Asian Development Bank, along with support from Australia, New Zealand and the European Union.
Mr Virivolomo said improving road infrastructure and maintaining roads and bridges is a critical and benefits the whole country.
“This helps people living in rural areas to have more reliable transport access to markets and essential services.”