SDA Officers Reveal Assirot Road in West Jakarta Collapsed Due to Corrosion

One lane of Jalan Assirot in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, has collapsed. Officers from the West Jakarta Water Resources (SDA) Sub-agency stated the road collapsed because the metal structure beneath the surface corroded after decades of use.

“The cause is that underneath there is a culvert shaped like a tin can, an old-style culvert. Over time, after decades, it corroded. So the metal culvert collapsed, and the road collapsed with it,” explained West Jakarta SDA Sub-agency officer Budi Santoso at the location on Tuesday.

Budi said repairs are being carried out by installing a box culvert beneath the road surface. The destroyed metal culvert will be replaced with concrete.

“The metal will be removed later and replaced with a concrete box culvert,” he said.

However, Budi explained that his team cannot yet determine a target for the project’s completion. Repairs must be carried out with extra caution due to the many large utility cables buried beneath the road.

“We cannot set a target because the obstacle is the cables, there are many cables, all large ones. We have to work slowly and with extra care. So we cannot determine a target,” he said.

“As soon as possible, we want it to be as soon as possible,” Budi added.

Meanwhile, local resident Ardi (31) said the road structure had actually been uneven for a long time. However, the ground finally collapsed completely on Saturday.

“The hole appeared on Saturday, but the road had been bumpy for a long time,” Ardi said.

With the officers now handling the situation, Ardi hopes the road will not collapse again in the future and that driving comfort on Jalan Assirot can be restored.

“Hopefully it won’t collapse again, and the road can be smooth,” he said.

Previously, a viral video showed the road had collapsed quite deeply. The video narrated that there had been several excavation projects on Jalan Assirot.

Observations at the location on Tuesday at 1:00 PM Western Indonesia Time showed officers working to repair the subsurface of the road. The diameter of the hole in the road has now been enlarged to about 5 metres to facilitate the evacuation of the old culvert.

An excavator was also seen on standby at the location. The area around the road repair is partially closed, but vehicles are still able to pass alternately.