Govt warns of more unsafe bridges
Govt warns of more unsafe bridges
Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Nana Rukmana, Bali/Cirebon
Only three trucks at a time are allowed to pass each of around 30
bridges along Java's northern coast highway following the
collapse of Cipunegara Bridge in the West Java town of Subang on
Friday, a minister says.
Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno
said on Monday the bridges' load capability had been reduced to
75 percent due to their ages. Meanwhile, the number of heavy
trucks using the busy road is on the rise.
"The burden of the Pantura highway has been increasing because
more overloaded trucks pass along it," Soenarno said on the
sidelines of the signing of a bilateral air agreement with the
United States in Bali.
The overburdened bridges were built 24 years ago or earlier.
Cipunegara Bridge, for example, was built in 1978 to withstand
an overall 240-ton load, Soenarno said, but its capability had
been reduced to 190 tons. When the bridge collapsed, eight trucks
carrying goods weighing 326 tons were on it.
Soenarno said he had instructed the ministry's offices in West
and Central Java to conduct daily monitoring of the condition of
bridges along the highway to prevent another bridge collapse.
More specifically, the ministry's regional offices have to
limit the number of trucks passing a bridge to only three
simultaneously. Ministry employees and police will be placed in
three posts situated close to a bridge to check whether a truck
is overloaded and to maintain the orderly passage of trucks.
"If three trucks are already heading for a bridge, the trucks
following must wait their turn. This also requires the drivers'
compliance with the rule," Soenarno said.
He said the strict measure could disrupt traffic or cause long
queues of trucks waiting for inspection.
He added that the government would reconstruct bridges along
the north Java coast highway that are 20 years old or more,
starting in 2006.
Each bridge has a steel structure, the strength of which
decreases from year to year and routine inspections must be
conducted every 10 years, he said.
Meanwhile, reconstruction of Cipunegara Bridge began on
Monday, with its project manager estimating that the work would
be completed in 45 days, barring no rain or natural disasters.
The ministry's head of major projects along the north coast
road, Purnomo, told The Jakarta Post the time schedule had been
adjusted to accommodate the annual exodus prior to Idul Fitri,
which is expected to fall early in November.
At least four containers full of Hamilton type concrete
skeletons for the bridge reconstruction arrived in Subang from
Surabaya on Sunday.
Purnomo said the project would cost the government Rp 2
billion (US$224,700), which would come from the state budget for
this fiscal year.
Traffic heading to and from the collapsed bridge has returned
to normal after the local police rerouted vehicles traveling from
Jakarta to Cirebon and Central Java.