Fix this ‘killer corner’ on the freeway

Commentary by Ron Seddon

The Port Moresby Chamber has slammed authorities for their failure to address the corner on the Freeway at SVS Supermarket .

“Here we have another truck accident there today , how many do we have to have before we face the consequences of a major accident on this stretch of road and multiple fatalities?" an angry Chamber President , Ron Seddon .

“This is a major disaster waiting to happen , with a major supermarket , a busy bank and a well-used sportsfield right in the line of fire.

“Why has it taken years to fix it ? Does nobody care ? This sort of obvious negligence , when a problem is well-known , in any other country , would lead to manslaughter charges against those responsible , yet who failed to act?

“We even offered to take it on as a project and use the skills within our member organizations to find a solution , but transport and city authorities turned a deaf ear . They did form a committee , with a name as long as the actual stretch of road , but where are the outcomes from that committee.

"Where is the action on a potentially fatal situation? NCD’s best effort to date was to commission a report by a former city manager , which cost as much as it would have done to instal a temporary solution to the problem.

"We also suggested removing the jersey barriers from the Koki road , where they are clearly redundant to requirements and have possibly never been hit by any vehicle . Again NCD told us it was too hard to move them because it was not that simple , they were interlocked. It seems everybody wants to find out how NOT to fix the problem instead of getting on with it and fixing the issue.

"We fully understand there are many issues involved , one of them being driver education , and dangerous vehicles , but this will always be with us so why not fix the corner so vehicles cannot cross into the oncoming lane and onto the business properties on the other side of the road?"

"While we are at , we need to ask if there is any control on loading of trucks , as not only can this lead to such rollovers , but is bound to be having a detrimental effect on our road surfaces , and we cannot rely on visits from Royal guests and dignitaries to speed the process of fixing our roads."

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PC Online