Landslide closes Cipularang toll road

BANDUNG. Hundreds of vehicles had to make U-turns on Tuesday evening at kilometer (km) 100 of the Cikampek-Purwakarta-Padalarang toll road in Darangdan, Purwakarta regency, West Java, due to a landslide.

“A landslide covered the toll road, making it impassable,” said the traffic subsection chief of state toll road operator PT Jasa Marga, Andrie Kustiawan, over the phone.

There were no fatalities or damaged vehicles in the landslide, which occurred at about 6:30 p.m., closing the toll road heading in the direction of Jakarta.

Motorists were told to make a U-turn and exit at the Padalarang toll gate before entering the toll road again at Jatiluhur toll gate to continue their journey to Jakarta, Andrie said.

Andrie was not yet able to estimate the volume of dirt that had piled up at the location due to the landslide.

Responding to the incident, toll road workers implemented a contra-flow traffic system from km 102 to km 96 on the side of the toll road heading to Bandung.

“I have yet to reach the landslide location because I am still directing the traffic,” Andrie said.

The police were deploying heavy equipment from Ciganea, Purwakarta, to remove the dirt.

West Java Police chief spokesman Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul said it was imperative to remove the dirt immediately to allow the toll road to reopen.

“The landslide has caused a queue up to km 120,” he said.

To reduce the queue on the toll road, workers closed the Padalarang toll gate and redirected vehicles to Purwakarta.

Martinus added that the landslide had not obstructed the traffic flow from Jakarta to Bandung.

Separately, the West Java Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) chief, Sigit Udjwalaprana, said his office appreciated the work of PT Jasa Marga in handling the landslide.

He said that before the landslide, the toll road operator had prepared soil-resisting walls on the road heading in the direction of Jakarta.

The walls were constructed because the toll road operator realized the potential of soil movement in the area.

“We are ready to help if it is needed by the toll road operator, as the presence of too much heavy equipment could be cumbersome,” said Sigit.

“Jasa Marga already has a good disaster mitigation plan at the location,” he went on.

Tuesday’s landslide was not the first on the toll road. A similar incident took place in 2009 at km 114+800 on the part of the road heading in the direction of Bandung, while in 2005 a fairly large land movement closed the toll road at km 91+600 heading to Jakarta.

Head of the Vulcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center, Surono, said the area was prone to land subsidence or landslides.

Geological studies showed that the area was in a zone with high soil movement, he went on.

“The material consists of clay stone, which expands when it comes into contact with water,” he said. “These conditions allow the soil to move easily.” (Arya Dipa, The Jakarta Post)