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Jakarta Post

Flaws suspected in bridge fall

The collapse of Kutai Kartanegara Bridge on Saturday is the latest in a series of public works projects, including schools and bridges throughout the nation, that have met an untimely demise

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Mon, November 28, 2011

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Flaws suspected in bridge fall

T

he collapse of Kutai Kartanegara Bridge on Saturday is the latest in a series of public works projects, including schools and bridges throughout the nation, that have met an untimely demise.
Nothing left: Rescue workers search the waters near the collapsed Kutai Kartanegara Bridge near Samarinda in East Kalimantan on Sunday. The 710-meter-long suspension bridge, often called Indonesia’s “Golden Gate Bridge” after its California counterpart, was launched only in 2001. Reuters/Rizal Adi Nugroho

Inspired by the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in the US, the bridge, which spanned Mahakam River in East Kalimantan, was launched in 2001.

“It is rare that a bridge aged only 10 years collapses,” Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto told reporters in Tenggarong on Sunday, as quoted by Antara news wire.

Djoko, who along with Coordinating People’s Welfare Minister Agung Laksono was visiting the site of the bridge, said the collapse was still under investigation.

Four people were killed, 40 injured and 16 reported missing after Kutai Kartanegara Bridge collapsed on Saturday around 4:30 p.m.

National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that the bridge, which was open while under renovation, collapsed suddenly.

“One cable broke and was quickly followed by other cables, prompting the collapse. The bridge collapsed in 30 seconds,” Sutopo Purwo said.

“The bridge apparently was unable to hold the weight of the traffic.”

The BNPB, the National Search and Rescue Agency, the Army and local police officers have been deployed to the accident site to search for victims.

Sutopo said the BNPB would ask the Technology Assessment and Application Agency (BPPT) to collect samples of the bridge’s vertical wires and main cables for analysis and to audit the technology used to build the bridge.

Investigators would also look at pillars of the bridge below the waterline that were once struck by a barge, Sutopo said.

Linking Tenggarong and Samarinda municipalities, the 710-meter Kutai Kartanegara Bridge was Indonesia’s longest at the time of its collapse.

Djoko said that the bridge had been weakened after it was struck by boats six times.

“A pillar almost collapsed last year because it was hit by a cargo barge that carried coal,” he said.

Fauzri Fahimuddin, a lecturer in civil engineering from Jakarta State Polytechnic, said the bridge’s contractor could be held responsible for its collapse under the 1999 Law on Construction Service.

Article 25 of the law stipulates that contractors can be held liable for the failure of construction works less than 10 years of age.

“An investigation is required to confirm whether the error lay in the planning or the maintenance stages,” he said.

President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono expressed his condolences to all those affected by the incident, according to his spokesman.

Yudhoyono was shock when he was learned about the collapse, presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said.

“The President said that the incident was serious, and relevant officials, such as those from the Public Works Ministry, would be questioned,” Julian said on sidelines of the wedding reception of Yudho-yono’s youngest son, Edhie “Ibas” Baskoro, at the Jakarta Convention Center on Saturday night.

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