Keeping Bali’s Bridges Safe

(12/5/2011)

Following the cataclysmic collapse of Indonesia’s largest suspension bridge in East Kalimantan on Saturday, November 26, 2011, that resulted in more than 21 deaths, officials nationwide are undertaking urgent reviews of construction and safety standards at major bridges.

Urged on by the tragedy in Kalimantan, provincial and regional officials in Bali have ordered that routine inspection and maintenance of the island's many bridges be intensified in order to reduce the chance of a repetition of last month’s fatal bridge failure.

Bali’s largest bridge, built during the administration of Governor Made Beratha in 2006, spans the Bangkung river connecting the south Bali region with the regions of Bangli and Buleleng.

Claimed to be the highest bridge in Southeast Asia, the Tukad Bangkung bridge's tallest pillar stands 71.14 meters high, supporting a bridge that is 350 meters long constructed using a balanced cantilever configuration.

Bali’s second longest bridge spans the Unda river in Klungkiung. A steel-framed bridge on the Jalan Tohpati – Kusumba route, the bridge is 300 meters long.

Bali’s governor confirmed to the press that a special team has been dispatched to both bridges to undertake an additional audit on bridge safety following the Kalimantan incident and verify the routine periodic tests already in place for all bridges in the province.