PU Ministry Starts Repairing Damaged Road Structure in Aceh Tamiang after the Great Flood of Sumatra

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Public Works (PU) has started repairing damaged road structures due to flooding and flood flows after the recent flood in Aceh Tamiang Regency, Aceh Province. Later, the repair of the structure will be carried out by the National Road Implementation Office (BPJN) Aceh Directorate General of Road Construction of the PU Ministry.

Minister PU Dody Hanggodo said that the handling was focused on the strategic section of the Banda Aceh-Medan National Road, which is the main connecting route between regions and provinces in Aceh Tamiang.

"Connectivity is the key. A road that is functional again will accelerate the recovery of social and economic activities of the community. Therefore, post-disaster handling does not stop at cleaning, but must be continued with repairs so that road services really recover," said Dody in a written statement, Friday, January 23.

Head of BPJN Aceh Directorate General of Road Construction of the Ministry of PU Heri Yugiantoro said that his party had repaired potholes that could potentially endanger the safety of road users.

The holes were handled through patching activities so that the road conditions remained safe and functional for users.

"We are trying to close these holes. We have done this by patching so that the road remains safe and functional," he said.

In addition, said Heri, routine handling of road conditions is also carried out through the patching and hole sweeping (salob) method by utilizing a stable fast patch material (TCM), asphalt removal using a cold milling machine (CMM) and hotmix coating.

The repair work has been carried out along approximately four kilometers (km) on the Banda Aceh-Medan cross-line which crosses the city of Kuala Simpang and its surroundings.

"We focus on critical points first. In the future, improvements will continue gradually to the limit of North Sumatra Province. Several points on the Aceh-North Sumatra border have also begun to be handled," he said.

In the future, road repairs will continue gradually until they reach the limit of North Sumatra Province (Sumut). A number of points in the Aceh-Sumut border area have also begun to be handled as part of efforts to maintain inter-provincial connectivity.

As a precautionary measure, BPJN Aceh also installed warning signs at a number of vulnerable points that have not been permanently handled, in order to increase the vigilance of road users.

"In its implementation, we also received support from a number of BUMN Karya to accelerate handling in the field," he explained.

Based on the report of BPJN Aceh as of January 22, 2026, land transportation access through national roads throughout Aceh Province continues to show significant progress.

It is known that the Banda Aceh-Meureudu, Meureudu-Bireuen, Bireuen-North Aceh, Lhokseumawe-Langsa, Langsa-Kuala Simpang to Kuala Simpang-the border of North Sumatra provinces have returned to function for all types of vehicles.

A number of bailey emergency bridges have also been installed and can be passed, while landslide and sediment handling is carried out gradually in various inter-regional connecting sections.

Not only that, a number of bridges have also entered the permanent handling phase, which is marked by the groundbreaking by the Minister of PU on January 21, 2026.

The bridges include those on the Banda Aceh-Meureudu section, Bireuen City-North Aceh (Krueng Tingkem Mak Bridge), Bireuen City-Bener Meriah (Teupin Mane Bridge), and on the Central Aceh-Nagan Raya section at the Krueng Beutong Bridge.

In addition, permanent handling has also begun on the Lawe Mengkudu I Bridge on the Gayo Lues-Kutacane section and several bridges on the Bireuen-Bener Meriah-Takengon section, which had previously been broken due to flash floods in Aceh Province.