CAPTION: FRA CEO Neil Cook. Photo: SHALENDRA PRASAD.
In response to many queries on road resealing and construction, the Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) is now pleased to advise that resealing is finally underway in Suva, and will begin to be done in full swing throughout the country from now onwards on many existing sealed roads.
As it is a relatively new exercise on Fiji roads, the FRA feels that our users should be informed of the process and what to look out for in terms of driving safely over the new seal.
This is done to waterproof the existing sealed roads by adding another layer of bitumen and stone. Reducing the amount of water that gets into a road extends the life of the road for between 5-12 years depending on the traffic volumes and type of reseal applied.
Many of these roads will have some repair works done on the worst sections prior to resealing and the finished reseal is likely to be rougher than a brand new road but will last a lot longer than if no work is done at all.
The Authority says that the sealing of your streets is like painting your house thus protecting and extending the life of the road, while making it safe to use.
FRA is addressing the large backlog of resealing that is required on Fiji’s sealed roads and has an ambitious target of delivering over 100km of resealing each year. This means that over the next few months travelers will frequently come upon worksites with a lot of activity.
Chief of FRA, Neil Cook has asked the travelling public to take care when driving through a reseal site as loose sealing chip will be present for a few days after it has been applied which can be slippery when driving too fast, and can cause broken windscreens when vehicles don’t abide by the speed restrictions that the contractors put in place during the reseal operation.
He has expressed his concern that all drivers need to abide by the instructions given at the worksites, as driving through bitumen spray or driving on uncovered bitumen can cause irreparable damage to vehicles. Road marking will also not be present for a few days after resealing so drivers should take care especially when driving at night.
The Fiji Roads Authority appreciates the co-operation of the public in building better Fiji roads.
MINFO