Alleged Wrong Design Of The Jabodebek LRT Longspan Is Considered Not Harmful

Illustration of Longspan LRT (Photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA - Special Staff to the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Arya Sinulingga said the design of the long-span arch bridge or the Jabodebek LRT longspan at the Kuningan intersection was not a mistake, but an option to make development more efficient. Both from an economic and construction perspective.

For your information, the Jabodebek LRT longspan from Gatot Subroto to Kuningan is being highlighted by the public. The reason is, the longest longspan in the world is called the wrong design, because it is too narrow so the train must go slowly.

Arya explained, an additional longspan without poles will load the LRT much more efficiently even though there are consequences where the speed of the train becomes slower when crossing the bend.

"Indeed, there are consequences, this efficiency makes like it or not have to be slow. But from an economic point of view, this is more economical than having to build a pole, or enlarge the room for the LRT," he said at the Ministry of SOEs, Jakarta, Thursday, August 3.

Arya said, building the Gatot Subroto-Kuningan longspan is one of the most appropriate choices. Because, under the route passed by the Jabodebek LRT, there is a fast lane for four-wheeled vehicles.

In terms of economy, it is more profitable and in terms of structure it is better. Imagine if the poles in the middle of the toll road are built by poles, it will be heavier and more expensive," he said.

In addition, Arya also said that the Jabodebek LRT longspan design did not provide any losses when viewed from the time aspect. The reason is, the construction of this arch bridge is not too long, only 148 meters.

"In terms of time, it's not that much, because it's not too long. So from the time side it's not detrimental," he explained.

Design Solutions

Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi ensured that the longspan in Gatot Subroto to Kuningan was safe to pass. In fact, Budi said the PUPR Ministry had also assessed the longspan.

"Certain, God willing (safe). So the Ministry of Public Works has also assessed it," he said at the State Palace, Jakarta, Thursday, August 3.

Budi was also reluctant to call this longspan design wrong. He said, this longspan is the result of a design that follows the existing conditions.

Even so, Budi admitted that the existing design was not fully maximal, but this existing design was optimized.

"I'm not talking wrongly and correctly, but it's an error that at one corner there must be a solution. So if I, I can say it's not wrong, it's a design solution," he said.