Cable road work leaving hazards, mud and dust

Multa Fidrus ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Tangerang   |  Wed, 03/26/2008 12:38 PM  |  City

NO SAFETY SIGNS: A truck got stuck Tuesday in a ditch left uncovered in a road work operation to plant optic cables along Jl. Raden Patah, Tangerang. (JP/Multa Fidrus)

Ditches left improperly covered by workers burying cables along roads in Tangerang have drawn complaints from motorists in the area.

"The ditches ... have caused a lot of problems not only for motorists but also residents living along this road," Akmal Hermawan, a resident living near Jl. Ki Hajar Dewantara, Ciputat, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He said cars, minivans, trucks, buses and motorcycles had all been stuck in the ditches.

"I myself have seen two trucks carrying sand, three minivans and a bus all stuck in the holes along this road," he said, adding he'd also heard of motorcycle riders falling due to the uneven terrain.

He said rain caused soil from the digging to muddy the road, and after the road dried passing vehicles stirred up the dust to blow into residents' homes.

"I have no idea where to file complaints because the workers say they do not know the address, the contact number or even the name of the company that hired them," Akmal said.

Several workers digging ditches along Jl. Raden Patah in Cileduk told the Post on Tuesday they were being paid to bury fiber optics cable for a cellular operator.

Along another part of the road, the Post observed a truck with a heavy load stuck in one of the ditches.

Sunardi, the driver, said he could not do anything to get unstuck but wait for help.

"I have seen many places where the ditches are the source of accidents and troubles for motorists and now it's my turn to be one of the victims," he told the Post.

Sunardi was transporting hundreds of bags of cement from a factory in Cibinong, West Java, for construction work of an underpass at Cileduk intersection.

"Naturally this accident will cause a delay of the construction work," he said.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.