Severe damage to a section of the Trans-Sumatra road has brought commuter traffic and cargo transport to a standstill.
The damage, which was caused by subsidence near Panegolan village, South Lampung, has forced buses and cargo trucks to take alternative routes, adding hours to their trips.
The section of road had earlier undergone repairs after a similar problem.
“We will have to totally close the road for reconstruction that could take days to complete,” head of Lampung provincial Bina Marga Agency Berlian Tihang said, Monday.
As a consequence, all vehicles heading to Bandarlampung, Palembang, Bengkulu, Padang, Medan, and other cities in Sumatra were redirected to the trans-eastern coastal road.
Drivers have complained about the detours, citing that in addition to increased fuel consumption, they will have to incur the cost of paying corrupt police and thugs to use the older roads.
“I could spend up to hundreds of thousands of rupiah in [illegal tolls],” Edison, a truck driver from Medan, said.
Various factors, according to Berlian, may be to blame for the subsidence including the age of the road, which was built in 1983.
Built over reclaimed land and rivers, the road has been equipped with some 50 large drainage pipes, which are designed to allow river water to pass through.
“If the sewers do not function, the water cannot pass through [the road], eroding the layers beneath its surface,” he said.
Markups on the quality of construction materials, according to Berlian, has also contributed to the damage.
The agency, he said, has been repairing a number of the damaged sections.
An emergency bridge designed to hold 20 tons is being constructed over the section of damaged road.
“This is what we can do while waiting for a program from the central government,” he said.
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