Puncak Borneo Road Diversion Ready Soon

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The completed Bailey bridge across Sungai Sadir.


A map shows the approximately 100-foot long road diversion.

KUCHING: A road diversion near the stretch of Jalan Puncak Borneo that collapsed early this year will be completed before the end of the month.

Padawan Municipal Council chairman Lo Khere Chiang said the temporary diversion only required two days to complete but the Public Works Department (JKR) is still awaiting compensation for the owners of two huts situated on the proposed site.

“JKR is waiting for compensation to be disbursed to owners of the affected huts and the relocation of these huts to proceed further. Once relocation is done, stones as a road base will be laid and compacted,” he said yesterday when commenting on the latest regarding the proposed road diversion.

“Two days are estimated to complete this temporary diversion, and the road will be open to the public, which will undoubtedly bring a huge relief to local commuters as well as tour operators.”

Lo said while the temporary road diversion is considered the best alternative to address the immediate needs of daily commuting, the project would take some time to complete.

“When erosion occurred and the road gave way, JKR and its engineers started investigation to ascertain the cause of failure and possible solution to address the failed embankment.

“Embankment failure needs careful attention as the way water flows under the ground to cause this kind of failure is sometimes very unpredictable,” he explained.

Lo said the issue of compensation was solved thanks to the efforts of Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communication Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong.

Meanwhile, he said JKR started with the mobilisation of equipment to the site on June 10 followed by earthworks a day later.

The earthworks, he explained, involved “a cut and fill on two hills” to allow wider access for the proposed road diversion.

“An area was cut and levelled for the relocation of landowners’ huts as part of the negotiated agreement. A five-foot wide culvert was laid on June 12.

“After that earthworks continued with the filling of a slope on the western side of the failed embankment to widen the access of the proposed diversion.”

Major earthworks ended last Monday, he said, adding temporary gravel access has also been constructed for motorcycles.

“If you recall, there was another bridge that collapsed around the same time, and a lorry went down with it. It was Kampung Sadir Bridge and it was completed about two weeks ago,” he said, adding a Bailey bridge was installed costing JKR approximately RM300,000.

On Jan 19, more than 10 villages along Jalan Puncak Borneo were cut off as the stretch leading to Kampung Pangkalan Ampat from the main road caved in.

A few other roads along Jalan Puncak Borneo were also damaged due to landslips and flash floods.

On March 2, Kampung Sadir Bridge collapsed under the weight of a lorry carrying sand for the construction of a telecommunication tower at Kampung Sibekar.

The incident cut off the route to Kampung Sadir from Kampung Annah Rais.


the entrance to the proposed diversion.


Two huts in the way of the proposed diversion need to be relocated.

Date : 21 June 2015     Source : Borneo Post Online