MUKAH: The bridge component in the Pan Borneo Highway project is not only challenging but costly.
New Sarawak Tribune last Wednesday observed that there were a few bridges being built along the ongoing Pan Borneo Highway from Sibu to Selangau-Bintulu junction.
The length of the bridge depends on the width of the river or the nature of the area where a bridge is necessary.
What makes building a bridge challenging is, among other things, the unknown nature of the area involved and the additional work load required.
Additionally, a bridge project requires large volume of building materials and the cost involved is high.
The time taken to complete a bridge is quite long too, and it is not surprising that it may directly influence the completion schedule of the whole Pan Borneo Highway.
The Durin Bridge in Durin near Sibu took a few years to complete, which unfortunately, was many months beyond the scheduled completion date.
It was learned that, among the major challenges faced by the contractor, was the width of the Batang Rajang in that area.
