Aceh Government Prepares DED for Peusangan Selatan Bridge Reconstruction
The Aceh provincial government has begun preparing the Detailed Engineering Design (DED) for the reconstruction of the Peusangan Selatan Bridge in Bireuen Regency. The move follows weeks of field assessments and monitoring conducted by the Task Force for the Acceleration of Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (Satgas PRR) together with relevant stakeholders.
Fadhli, Head of the Public Works and Spatial Planning (PUPR) Office of Bireuen Regency, stated that the steel truss bridge connecting Ule Jalan Village and Suwak Village falls under the authority of the Aceh provincial government. “Once the DED is completed, the Aceh provincial government will proceed with the budget preparation process for the bridge’s reconstruction,” Fadhli told Tempo on Wednesday, 24 June 2026.
The DED preparation is one of the follow-up actions from a series of assessments and monitoring conducted by Satgas PRR across various disaster-affected areas in Aceh during early June, in accordance with the Master Plan for the Acceleration of Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (Renduk). In addition to reconstruction and rehabilitation, the task force is also mandated to oversee the process. During these activities, Satgas PRR, together with ministries, agencies, local governments, and other relevant parties, identified infrastructure needs and formulated steps to accelerate recovery.
The Peusangan Selatan Bridge is one of 13 bridges in Bireuen Regency damaged by the hydrometeorological disaster that struck Sumatra in November 2025. Eight of these are steel truss bridges, while the remaining five are suspension bridges. The powerful flash flood currents eroded the bridge’s foundations, causing most of the structure to collapse into the river. Only a portion of the structure remains on the Ule Jalan Village side. The Peusangan Selatan Bridge is also the only steel truss bridge affected by the disaster in Bireuen Regency that falls under the authority of the Aceh provincial government.
The bridge’s destruction has directly impacted community activities. The severed inter-regional link has hampered residents’ mobility, including economic and educational activities. Hundreds of students and teachers from Ule Jalan Village are forced to use simple rafts or motorised boats to cross the river daily to reach their schools.
One resident, Fauzi Doklip, admitted to struggling with daily routines since the bridge was damaged. “To take my children to school or to the religious study centre in Darul Aman, we are forced to use a raft. The same goes for other needs. If we want to go to Bireuen or Matang Geulumpang Dua, we also have to cross by raft,” Fauzi recounted. The challenges become even more severe when heavy rain falls again. Rising river currents frequently disrupt residents’ crossing activities. Furthermore, the distribution of agricultural produce and basic necessities has also been hampered because vehicles can no longer traverse the bridge, which was previously one of the main access routes in the area.
According to Fadhli, the handling of the affected area is being carried out in stages. In addition to rebuilding the bridge, the government is also preparing measures to stabilise the riverbanks eroded by the floods around the site. All recovery plans have been incorporated into the Renduk, which serves as the government’s reference for accelerating the recovery of disaster-affected regions. “So currently, the reconstruction of infrastructure has been included in the post-disaster recovery planning and will be implemented in stages according to each authority’s jurisdiction,” Fadhli said.