Indonesian bridge disaster

A bridge collapse at the weekend on Borneo Island in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan has injured 39 people and killed 11, while at least 30 are missing and presumed drowned. The entire deck of the 720m long suspension bridge collapsed, plunging a bus as well as trucks, cars and motorcycles into the Mahakam River. The bridge was completed in 2002 but suffered serious damage to one of its supports last year when it was struck by a coal carrying barge and has been hit on several previous occasions by vessels plyin
May 15, 2012 Read time: 1 min
A bridge collapse at the weekend on Borneo Island in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan has injured 39 people and killed 11, while at least 30 are missing and presumed drowned. The entire deck of the 720m long suspension bridge collapsed, plunging a bus as well as trucks, cars and motorcycles into the Mahakam River. The bridge was completed in 2002 but suffered serious damage to one of its supports last year when it was struck by a coal carrying barge and has been hit on several previous occasions by vessels plying the river. Reports suggest that one of the support cables for the bridge broke as it was being repaired, triggering the collapse and an investigation into the tragedy has now been ordered by Indonesia’s president.
Road Structures

Related Content

  • Skidmarks: Scaring speeders
    February 6, 2020
    Our Skidmarks page is highly rated by readers. Your input could help make this page even more entertaining. If you come across any amusing road-related stories or pictures email me at [email protected]
    Read More
  • Portugal and Spain to revamp a bridge over the border river Guadiana
    September 22, 2015
    The Portuguese road operator Infraestruturas de Portugal is to tender a €13 million contract for refurbishment of the international bridge over the Guadiana river, connecting Vila Real de Santo Antonio in Portugal and Ayamonte in Spain. The work will take 18 months and the cost will be shared by both countries, a report in Diário Económico said. Around 80% of the river is in Portugal. The river flows east to west through Spain, then south through Portugal, then forming the Spanish-Portuguese border
    Read More
  • The UK’s road safety levels have stalled
    October 1, 2020
    Improvements in the UK’s road safety levels have stalled.
    Read More
  • Formwork solutions for bridge maintenance and repair
    January 6, 2015
    An array of innovative formwork solutions have helped in the repair and construction of key bridge links - Mike Woof writes Formwork producers are continually developing novel solutions for bridge maintenance and construction applications. Several key structures have benefited from the novel use of formwork systems, with suppliers such as Doka, PERI, Pilosio and RMD all working on important structures in recent times. In Estonia, construction work is underway on the bypass around Tartu, the country’s
    Read More

Highlighted Content