Morobe Governor Kasiga Kelly Naru today visited the collapsed bridge along Bulolo Highway and asked the youths to open the road.
He also gave some money to the youths and told them not to harass the travelling public.
"This is a national highway and I appeal to all of you not to harass or humiliate the public and contractors who come to repair the bridge,” urged Governor Naru.
“Refrain from this as I am giving you some money and want this road to be opened."
Naru gave K10,000 (K5,000 each) to both Wampit and Timini youths.
He said people from Bulolo and Menyamya districts are their people and they must not be threatened; they should be able to move around freely.
He was accompanied by Northern Command police chief Peter Guinness and Morobe Provincial Police Commander Chief Superintendent Augustine Wampe.
Wampe said: "We will be travelling the highway to ensure that the road is free. Youths have been given some payments so the roads are open.”
The payments were made to ease the building tension between the youths from Timini and Wampit who claimed that the damage was theirs.
The bridge collapsed on Sunday night after a heavy downpour, which forced Warabung River to burst its banks onto the Lae side of the bridge.
A makeshift bridge was constructed for the travelling public to access with a payment of K2 each way.
