W. Java govt tighter control of weigh stations

Nana Rukmana, Cirebon

West Java Governor Danny Setiawan has promised that his administration will closely supervise vehicles traveling along the north coast highway and immediately ensure that weighing stations are operating as they should be.

Personnel manning the stations must be more professional, and not corrupt in performing their duties, said Danny in Cirebon.

"We will strictly oversee heavy vehicles, especially those using the north coastal highway, which is the main artery of our economy," said Danny, following the collapse of the Cipunegara bridge last Friday.

Seven vehicles -- six of them trucks with full loads -- had been crossing the bridge simultaneously on Friday, when it collapsed, causing them to plunge into the river. No one died in the incident.

There are three state-owned weighing stations located in Cirebon regency and in Mundu and Losarang districts in West Java.

"Two of them cater for traffic coming from Central Java, while the one in Cikampek, Purwakarta, accommodates vehicles coming from Jakarta," said the governor.

He said that close supervision was vital to set professional working standards and to make the main roads in West Java safe. "We will reevaluate every weighing station in the province, including the personnel," said Danny.

The collection of illegal levies, whereby vehicles are allowed to pass without being weighed or examined, would also be eradicated, he said.

The governor will coordinate with regents and mayors in West Java in overseeing the weighing stations.

Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno said, following the collapse of the bridge, that there were at least 25 other bridges that desperately needed to be upgraded.

All of them are connected to the north coast highway, starting from Merak in Banten to Banyuwangi in East Java.

"Rp 100 billion is needed to upgrade the bridges, which are 1,406 meters long in total," said Soenarno on Monday.

Work on the bridges is projected to begin in the 2005-2006 budgetary year.

"It will be done in stages, depending upon the government's financial capabilities," he said.

Soenarno said that the framework of all 25 bridges was English Calendar Hamilton steel. They were designed to last for 50 years, assuming that human activity did not change.

"But, that hasn't been the case. In the seventies, trucks could only haul limited loads, while it's different now. The bridges' construction should be adjusted to present-day conditions," he said.

Most of the 25 bridges were built between 1973 and 1974. They were designed to withstand loads ranging from 200 to 250 tons.

The total load on the Cipunegara bridge at the time of its collapse was 320 tons.

Repairing the Cipunegara bridge will take around 45 days and four containers of steel framework, which has been brought in from Surabaya.