28th July 2015. Extensive rehabilitation and sealing works have been carried out on the island of Ovalau.
Fulton Hogan Hiways (FHH) Construction Manager, Phil Tombs, said that it was a priority to get the work completed on time.
Machinery, bitumen and sealing chips were shipped to the island so that the five-man sealing crew from New Zealand, along with seven colleagues from the local Fulton Hogan Hiways Joint Venture (FHHJV) team, could carry out the two weeks of sealing work on sections of the Ovalau Circular Road, the coastal road encircling the island.
These included 3500 square meters of rehab and seal though Bureta Village, 4500 square meters of rehab and seal at Visoto Village, pre-seal repairs, beginning from Levuka town and heading north for two kilometers, as well as a 1.5 kilometer seal extension through Waitovu Village.
At Waitovu, the seven-man construction team first put down an overlay of gravel to assist pavement strengthening, followed by a week of stabilizing, before the sealing crew moved in.
This stretch of road has been in need of sealing for many years and as well as the stabilizing and sealing work that took place, landscaping to widen the road, drainage, footpath and concreting work was also undertaken.
“Before this work, the local residents had to put up with a lot of dust, and it was so narrow, it was impossible for cars to pass safely. Now, with a wider, safer, sealed road, there is no more dust for the local resident’s,” said Mr Tombs.
PRESS RELEASE