The Public Works Agency Launched 6 Works To Solve Balikpapan Floods

BALIKPAPAN - The Balikpapan Public Works Agency (PU) launched 6 flood management works along MT Harjono Street and Mayor Polisi Zainal Arifin Street aka Beller Street earlier this week.

"All the work is worth a total of Rp 135 billion and will be carried out over the next 2 years by two contractor companies, namely PT Yodya Karya and PT Fahreza Duta Perkasa," said Head of the Public Works Agency (Kadis PU) Balikpapan Andi Muhammad Yusri Ramli as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, September 7th.

As for the six works to overcome the flood, the first is the construction of culverts that cut MT Harjono Street, more or less in front of the Global Sport gate. In that section, MT Harjono Street is in a narrow valley, from the direction of Balikpapan Baru the road descends steeply, then flat for approximately 100 meters, and immediately climbs again until a fork with Sjarifuddin Joes.

These culverts are used to drain the water that due to the natural contours collects on the road when it rains. In that section, it will also be raised up to 2 meters along 200 meters. This road elevation also reduces the steepness of the ascent and descent on this section.

The second work is the canal of the culvert, in the form of a large ditch 715 meters long and 2 meters deep, encircling Global Sport, along the east side of the Wika Housing wall fence to the end of the Balikpapan Baru Bozem channel.

The third is the work of widening the Balikpapan Baru secondary channel segment 1 along 325 meters from the Beller Bridge to the north to Pelita Jaya Motor. This work is on the east side of MT Harjono Street.

Fourth, the work of the Inhutani secondary channel, which is a 7-meter wide channel starting from the front of the Hemra Hotel to the front of the Pawnshop Office, which is 675 meters long. Then widen the channel 5 meters along 225 meters from the front of the Pegadaian to the entrance of Toyota Auto 2000. This work is on the west side of MT Harjono Street.

The fifth work is in the form of demolition and removal of remaining abutments (concrete and sediment) from under the PDAM Bridge on the Dam and from under the bridge in front of the Zurich Hotel on Jenderal Sudirman Street. This demolition is to facilitate the waterway to the sea, approximately 1,500 meters from the PDAM Bridge.

The sixth work is the widening of the Ampal River in the section that crosses Balikpapan Baru. In that section, the river will be widened to 7 meters and its depth will be increased to at least 2.7 meters.

"Currently the width of the river is 3-4 meters with an average depth of 2 meters," he said.