Jakarta-Bandung toll road back in operation

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post/Bandung

The speedy startup and completion of roadwork on a section of the Cipularang turnpike, which subsided on Monday night, has impressed motorists.

But advisor in the turnpike's construction Paulus Rahardjo said on Wednesday the repair job -- which took less than 24 hours in spite of reports the road would be closed for four days -- was only a temporary solution and there was no guarantee the road would not subside again.

"These were just emergency repairs. Permanent repairs will take around three months (to complete)," the geologist of Parahyangan University told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Traffic is heavy on the road as it shortens the trip between Jakarta and Bandung to two-and-a-half hours.

Paulus said the ground was clearly unstable and should have been reinforced with concrete pillars. He said the builders, including PT Adhikarya, had anticipated the problem and tried to prevent it by compacting the soil to make the road more stable.

Workers of state toll road operator PT Jasa Marga discovered the condition of the road on Monday night while patrolling in Sukatani subdistrict, Purwakarta regency. From a small hole, it grew bigger with the incessant rain and by Tuesday morning, the hole had reached eight meters in width and four meters in depth.

On Wednesday morning, at 7:20 a.m., traffic headed to Jakarta had returned to normal, while two-way traffic between Jakarta and Bandung resumed at 11 a.m.

Hendro Atmodjo, the head of Jasa Marga's Purwakarta-Bandung- Cileunyi operations, said Adhikarya had deployed around 40 units of heavy machinery and 200 workers to repair the road with 1,250 tons of sand and stones. It was then sealed with 50 centimeter- thick concrete and 50 cm-thick asphalt.

"We earlier estimated the repairs would be completed in four days due to bad weather but it turned out the weather was fine," he said.

Jasa Marga, he added, monitored the water level under the road and 16 inclinometers and other instruments were in place to detect possible land subsidence.

"We will also install 100-meter concrete pillars and move water channels to a more stable section," Hendro said.

The 41.3-kilometer road, which connects Cikampek, Purwakarta and Padalarang, was built just seven months ago.