Jakarta should have been freed from the perennial problem of damaged roads during rainy season if the authority had applied the construction standard procedure and did not treat road maintenance as an annual project.
“Road maintenance is often classified as an annual project, pending on the disbursement of the city budget,” University of Indonesia road construction expert Sigit P. Hadiwardoyo told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
He said the city would save on cost if it immediately fixed road potholes, especially during rainy season, as a 2007 study shows that 45 percent of road damage in Jakarta and greater areas were caused by a poor drainage system.
The city police’s Traffic Management Center, recorded 26 damaged road sections in five municipalities as of March 13.
According to Sigit, water inundation, pavement quality and maintenance were the main factors that deteriorated Jakarta roads.
Sigit said aspects that affected asphalt pavement, including temperature, should be closely monitored because a compaction with less than 110-120 Celsius degrees would result in fragile construction.
“The asphalt temperature should be checked after it arrives at the working site. It must not be used if the temperature level is lower. This standard is often not applied on the field,” he said.
Public Works Agency chief Budi Widiantoro said the agency had done its best in choosing materials for asphalt and concrete pavement as well as project consultancy through a bidding process.
“We entrust the project supervision to a professional and experienced consultant who wins the tender,” he said.
He said his office followed standard technical details, including the temperature of asphalt compaction.
Budi also said the agency planned to try a new concrete technology offered by state construction company PT Adhi Karya on its concrete pavement system.
Under the new system, blocks of concrete would be made ready from the company site and taken to the pavement location.
Budi said the current concrete pavement system required the contractor to close the road because the concrete would need 28 days to dry.
“I haven’t studied the cost and time efficiency and the quality of the new system yet,” he said.
He said Adhi Karya would trial the system at some Transjakarta bus lane sections of Corridor 1 in May at the latest.
Budi admitted that his agency needed to improve the drainage system because the main enemy for asphalt pavement was water.
He said the agency had planned to fix the drainage system on a number of main thoroughfares, including on Jl. M.H. Thamrin and Jl. Merdeka Barat.
“We will improve the drainage system volume in locations. The drainage in some areas need to be cleared, while those in other areas need a wider mouth,” he said.
When asked about minor damage maintenance, Budi said, “We continually repair potholes,” he said, adding that road asphalt layering would commence in June after the bidding process was completed.
