Labasa Residents Call for Bypass Road
The people of Labasa want a bypass road through their town to ease traffic movements and help boost business and North.
Their wish could materialise soon with the help from one of their own, the Minister for Sugar and Multi-Ethnic Affairs, Charan Jeath Singh.
The Labasa business tycoon said he would seek a meeting with the Minister for Public Works, Transport and Metereological Service, Ro Filipe Tuisawau to raise the issue. “I will look into this bypass road request with the line minister,” Mr Singh said after he was welcomed by members of the Labasa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI) and Labasa Ratepayers Association (LRA) on Wednesday.
LCCI president Satish Kumar said the bypass road; particularly in the Central Business District area (CBD) remained a priority development that needed attention. He claimed the request had been raised for ages since the Alliance government right up to the FijiFirst era.
“If Government makes progress in this area, it will be a history in the making,” Mr Kumar said.
“The People of Labasa and in general Macuata want the bypass road to ease traffic congestion on the main street of Labasa Town.”
Residents had been calling for a bypass road was because of daily traffic rush, queues of sugarcane trucks during the crushing season and the school terms. “Trucks carting sugarcane and logs on the main street pose danger and are accident risks. If a chain of an 18-wheeler truck breaks in town, imagine what can happen? We all pray it would not happen.”
Mr Singh said many surveys had been done on implementation plans for the bypass. “We have to understand that if the development happens, it will depend on the preference of people on which road to use and if many still consider the main road, then the bypass development will be less effective,” he said.