By Staff Writer
Road construction contractors received high praise in Parliament during the week for building better roads in Savaii compared to Upolu.
The praises came from the Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi who had travelled the roads the big island several times on inspection visits.
“ Credit to the quality of work by contractors and also to the hard volcanic landscape around most of the island compared to Upolu,” PM Tuilaepa had observed.
“The problem with Upolu is that it is much wetter and the ground is softer.”
What the PM may have overlooked also is there are more cars pounding the roads on the smaller island with a higher population density.
Road construction was raised over plans for the widening of the busy cross-island road in a major upgrading project set to start this year.
A bigger and improved roadside drainage system is included in the roadwork design.
“The road starts from Tanugamanono and work its way up to the top before a down run to the end of the road at the intersection to the main coastal road at the Siumu village,” Minister of Works Papali’i Niko Li Hang disclosed in Parliament.
“The Asian Development Bank is funding this major road construction noted in the Supplementary Budget.”
Emphasis was raised on the need to keep better maintenance to keep the roads in good order.
The use of private contractors to look after the roads has been ongoing for well over 10 years and is still continuing.
The cross-island road with its steep climbs and sharp descent is high maintenance for safety concerns and running water from heavy rains at high altitude.
The quality of the road is much safer and easier to travel now with all the upgrading work that has gone into it.
The volume of traffic has increased significantly as well for travel to the south side of the island by many of the urban population to enjoy the holiday attractions.
The convenience of taking the shortcut to Apia and back for south-siders keeps the traffic busy on the road.
