Rain Burst, Trenggalek-Ponorogo National Road Detention Wall Jebol Due To Landslides

Officers put up road lanes warning to be careful on the road/ Photo: Doc. Antara

JAKARTA - The Trenggalek-Ponorogo Km 16 national road, Nglinggis Village, Trenggalek, East Java is prone to being cut off and badly damaged after the collapse of the road retaining wall (TPJ) due to being dragged by landslides.

"Vehicles can still be passed. However, it is better for every road driver/user to be more careful," said Tugu Police Chief AKP Anwar as quoted by Antara, Sunday, December 11.

Anwar said, the wall on the left side from Trenggalek to Ponorogo collapsed after heavy rains that flushed the area a few days ago.

The road retaining wall collapsed with a length of about 20 meters with a height of about 5 meters.

The broken material was seen falling into the plots of the residents' corn fields.

In addition, the collapsed TPJ caused a semi-permanent stall for street vendors belonging to local residents to be badly damaged and collapsed.

Although it does not interfere with the flow of traffic on the protocol road, it urges road users to remain vigilant when passing.

The reason is that the collapsed TPJ location is often used as a reference for road users to just pull over and take photos of the Trenggalek Monument Dam not far from the location.

"To anticipate things that are not desirable, we have put up danger signs around the collapsed TPJ," he said.

Officers put up police lines and signs that read a prohibition on parking in the area.

In addition, to prevent further damage, officers from BBPJN XIII Surabaya as road supervisors have installed tarpaulins at landslide locations to avoid further damage.

"A tarp has been installed to reduce incoming rainwater so it doesn't get worse," he said.

To note, KM 16 Trenggalek National Road Ponorogo became a landslide subscription before BBPJN Surabaya built a cliff retaining wall on the right side of Trenggalek to Ponorogo.

In addition to Km 16, the construction of a similar wall from the PUPR Ministry Work Unit was also carried out at Km 18.