MCA Update #89 Efate Ring Road & Santo East Coast Road

Efate Work
Downer crews have now opened the road to traffic and removed the temporary by-pass road at DryCreek.
They are now placing and compacting the pavement over the top of the new culvert.
Some additional work is being done on Klehm’s Hill that requires traffic to be restricted to one lane. Work
to protect the abutments of the Ulei Bridge from scour damage during floods will start this week.
The Maintenance Contracts between PWD and Communities along the Efate Ring Road are progressing.
So far the Mele and Mele Maat Communities have carried out work in their areas and now Mangaliuliu
villagers have just started work in theirs.
The grass planting continues from Eton Beach towards La Cressonniere.

Santo Work
All the sealing and roadmarking work has been completed on Santo. Edge-lines have been marked on the
insides of some corners as an additional feature to assist drivers.
The sealing equipment is expected to be barged back to Efate this weekend.

Traffic Conditions and Road Safety
Construction work is underway at Dry Creek and at the Ulei Bridge. Traffic is also restricted to one lane on
Klehm’s Hill, with traffic controllers on duty 24 hours per day.Road users are urged to comply with the safety signs and the directions of traffic controllers at work sites.
Again, we ask all drivers to refrain from speeding anywhere on the sealed road or where construction is
underway. The roads are construction sites and used by pedestrians as well as other vehicles.

 

MCA Update #90 Efate Ring Road & Santo East Coast Road

Road-Works Substantially Completed as Final Sealing is
Achieved Ahead of Compact End Date!

Efate Work
This week all the Second Coat seal work was completed on Efate. In particular the sealing crew finished
all seal work between Eton Village and the end of the Japanese Road.
The short lengths of pavement at Dry Creek and the base of Klehm’s Hill have also been sealed. The
sealing crew will now work on finishing off access-ways and driveways, and other small tidy up tasks.
Some additional work is being done on Klehm’s Hill that requires traffic to be restricted to one lane. Work
to protect the abutments of the Ulei Bridge from scour damage during floods is now complete.
Now the sealing is complete, the road will be pavement marked between Eton and Rentapao.
The Maintenance Contracts between PWD and Communities along the Efate Ring Road are progressing.
The grass planting continues from La Cressonniere towards Pang Pang.

Santo Work
All the major work, including sealing, has now been completed on the Santo East Coast Road and
Downer personnel are in the process of carrying out some minor finishing off work and packing up to
leave Santo.There is a twelve months Defects Notification Period associated with the Contract and a small crew will be
on hand to carry out periodic inspections and deal with any work that may arise for which Downer is
responsible. The responsibility for routine maintenance of the finished road will be transferred to PWD,
working with MCA-V as the Employer until all contract obligations are completed.
Downer would like to thank all the people on Santo who have contributed to and assisted with the work,
especially SANMA Province staff, the Chiefs and leaders of all the communities along the road.

Traffic Conditions and Road Safety
Traffic is restricted to one lane on Klehm’s and Lelepa Hills, with traffic controllers on duty 24 hours per
day. Road users are urged to comply with the safety signs and the directions of traffic controllers at work
sites. Again, we ask all drivers to refrain from speeding anywhere on the sealed road or where
construction is underway. The roads are construction sites and used by pedestrians as well as other
vehicles.

Santo Road Widened in progress

Very good progress is being made with sealing on Santo and the sealing crew have now progressed through Hog Harbour and reached the Blue Hole at the 50 km mark. It is anticipated that the seal will reach Port Olry this weekend. This new seal is being completed to the full 6 m width. Once the sealing crew have reached Port Olry they will return to the start of the Project length and widen the previously completed seal from 5 m to 6 m.

SECCR from 5m to 6m

Widening the Sealing of the Santo East Coast Road: Deepening the Vanuatu , United Sates of America and New Zealand Partnership
The Minister for Finance and Economic Management Sela Molisa, the Minster for Infrastructure and Public Utilities Serge Vohor, the U.S Ambassador to Vanuatu Teddy Taylor and the NZ Minister for Foreign Affairs Murray McMully, today announced plans to widen the upgraded Santo East Coast Road from 5 Meters to 6 meters, consistent with the seal width on the Efate Ring Road. This work, at an additional cost of US$648,575 has been achieved through collaboration, goodwill and good management.

Hon. Sela Molisa opened today’s media conference “ We are pleased to announce that the prayers of the people of Santo have been answered. The whole of the 57 km seal on the Santo East Coast road will be widened from 5 meters to 6 meters. This is a great 30th Independence Anniversary gift for the people of SANMA Province” he stated.
The road projects, part of a five year US$65.69 million Vanuatu Millennium Challenge compact are bolstering the country’s transportation infrastructure by upgrading the Efate Ring Road and the Santo East Coast road. The overall objective is to reduce poverty and increase incomes by stimulating economic activity through these roads improvements. The Compact also aims to strengthen the ability of the Government including the Public Works Department to maintain and sustain infrastructure assets.
Initially, challenges such as a rise in cost of construction downscaled plans to complete both roads. Last year, the New Zealand Government, working in collaboration with the MCA-Vanuatu and the Government of Vanuatu, offered to provide additional funds of NZ$14million.
To avoid cost overruns, the seal on the Santo road was first restricted to only 5 meter width. MCA-Vanuatu and the design and build contractors, Downer EDI Works , worked to drive maximum value from the available funds and make savings in the hope that the Santo road seal width could be considered. The people of Santo have supported the road-works and have continued to pray that funds would be found for the sealing widening.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities, the Hon. Serge Vohor, acknowledged the efforts of his Ministry’s team on Santo and the contribution by the Public Works Department and the SANMA Provincial Government of a stockpile of some 200 cubic meters of 5mm aggregate. This contribution helped to significantly reduce the cost of the seal widening.
The NZ Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Murrray Mc Cully paid tribute to the efforts of Downer EDI Works in its work to ensure that the road are completed on time and within budget. “I am pleased to learn of the positive impacts the roads are having on the movement of people and goods”. He also welcomed the Government of Vanuatu’s Commitment to protecting this investment by ensuring the roads are maintained to a high standard.
Ambassador Teddy Taylor praised the Prime Minister and his Senior Ministers for their whole of Governments commitment and leadership of the Compact and the solid management by the MCA-Vanuatu Steering Committee and Unit. “Vanuatu continues to be a role model for the South Pacific”, he said. “ The impact of this small compact has been huge, from life-saving access to health services, reduced costs in accessing education, better access to market, end impetus to new business development”
In concluding the event, Minister Molisa stated “The MCA-Vanuatu Compact is achieving more than just building the roads. It is strengthening partnerships between communities and Provincial and National Government, and consolidation friendships with the people of the United States of America and New Zealand. By working together, we will be able to widen the seal and provide safer and more sustainable road for Santo”
MCA-Vanuatu has advised that the road-works on both Efate and Santo, including the extended seal on Santo, are expected to be certified for takeover in October 2010, ahead of schedule. It is expected that the celebrations to mark the completion of the road program will held late January/ early February, with the Vanuatu Compact Completing in April 2011.

Seedling Distribution

On the 14th of July 2010, a team comprising of MCA-Vanuatu staffs, Department of Agriculture and Department of Forestry staffs carryout the first ever seedling distribution on Efate. The seedlings distributed were part of the Goodwill Arrangement for the Government of Vanuatu to affected farmers that have lost crops an…d tree as a result of the construction of the Efate Ring Road under the Millennium Challenge Account Vanuatu (MCA-V) Transport Infrastructure project funded by the United States Government acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

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Planting Grass

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Planting Grass as a natural strategy to prevent soil from falling away or erosion. The grass roots will form a network of structure to create a solid blanket againts raindrops and running water, especially during heavy rain.

Also as part of promoting gender. Village women are being employed to plant the grasses. Among t…he women are some srudent young girls took up this opportunity during their school holiday to make enough money for their school needs.