MIRI – It is not just roads that are in bad shape in rural Sarawak. Bridges are also breaking apart and collapsing in locations that are far away from towns and cities.
One vital bridge that serves the rural population of interior Belaga district in central Sarawak is the Sg Pesu Jelalong bridge.
Located in the upper reaches of the Murum Dam more than 300km inland away from Bintulu town, the bridge is cracking and obviously about to collapse into the river below.
Sarawak PKR information chief Abun Sui has called on the state authorities to check on the situation and carry out urgent repairs before the whole structure collapses.
“The bridge across Sg Pesu is the only link for the settlements in the upper reaches of Murum Dam with the outside world,” he said.
“There are dozens of scattered settlements there. Local villagers are saying the condition of the wooden bridge is getting worse by the day.
“Any floods now would definitely see the bridge collapsing into the river and getting swept away.”
Abun said that the bridge is located in areas where vehicles from logging sites and oil palm plantations are operating.
“Heavy trucks plying the route are seriously damaging the bridge’s foundation,” he told reporters here.
Sui said state government politicians need to be aware of what is happening in the deep interior as there are tens of thousands of natives facing daily woes with regard to “koyak” (damaged) roads and “koyak” bridges.
On Saturday, a section of a Pan Borneo Highway feeder road in central Sarawak that links populated settlements upriver of the Murum Dam with the outside world collapsed after the area was hit by severe flash floods.
The highway, located about 300km from Bintulu town, is now totally sealed off from the public.
More than half of the section collapsed into the ravine by the side. It looked like a spectacular waterfall thundering dozens of metres into the deep ravine below. – The Vibes, August 8, 2022
