Emergency bridge reopens, restoring access in Padang Pariaman
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Task Force (Satgas PRR) for Sumatra has said that mobility in Nagari Anduriang, 2x11 Kayu Tanam District, Padang Pariaman Regency, West Sumatra, is gradually recovering after the emergency bridge over the Batang Anai river was reopened to the public.
The restoration of this access forms part of the accelerated rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts being overseen by the task force so that community activities can quickly return to normal.
The emergency bridge was brought back into service after work to normalise the flow of the Batang Anai river was completed ahead of schedule. Thanks to coordination between the Padang Pariaman Regency Government, the National Road Implementation Agency (BPJN), the Indonesian military (TNI), the police and various related parties, work originally estimated to take three days was completed in just two.
In the initial phase, the bridge has been opened to pedestrians, motorcycles and three-wheeled vehicles. Four-wheeled vehicles are not yet permitted to cross because the bridge structure is temporary and still requires finishing work, including the installation of safety railings on both sides.
Nevertheless, the bridge’s reopening has brought new hope to local residents. It is the main route used daily by more than 2,000 vehicles and serves the mobility of around 40,000 residents in the 2x11 Kayu Tanam district area.
“We are truly grateful this bridge could be opened sooner. Now our children can go to school and we can get to work without having to take a long detour. We hope construction of the permanent bridge starts soon,” said a local resident named Rino in a written statement from the task force received in Jakarta on Tuesday.
As part of the permanent rehabilitation and reconstruction, the Ministry of Public Works, through the National Road Implementation Agency, has prepared the construction of a new 140-metre bridge consisting of two 70-metre spans. The six-metre-wide bridge will use steel truss construction, with an investment value of around Rp45.2 billion sourced from the state budget, and is targeted to begin construction in 2026.
The permanent bridge is expected not only to restore community connectivity but also to strengthen infrastructure resilience in an area with a high level of vulnerability to hydrometeorological disasters.
As such, transport access, the distribution of goods, public services and the local economy can continue to function even in the face of future disaster threats.
The chairman of the Sumatra Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Task Force, Muhammad Tito Karnavian, emphasised that acceleration of rehabilitation and reconstruction can only be achieved through collaboration among all parties.
“We hope for support from all parties to work together in a spirit of gotong royong to accelerate rehabilitation and reconstruction,” said Tito following a ministerial-level meeting of the task force’s steering committee at the office of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture (Kemenko PMK) in Jakarta some time ago.