Sinkhole on Pan Borneo Highway
Published on: Thursday, October 31, 2019
By: Oliver Voon
KOTA KINABALU: The Public Works Department (PWD) had instructed its road concessionaire to backfill the sinkhole that suddenly emerged at a section of the newly-completed Pan Borneo Highway in Kinarut during bad weather recently.
A concerned motorist who frequents the dual-carriage road to his home in Kampung Langkuas told Daily Express that the sinkhole was not there when he drove past the area around 8am on Oct 26.
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“I presume it happened during incessant heavy rain which stretched from morning till late afternoon that Saturday,” said the motorist.
He urged the caretaker of the road project, which was partially completed at that part of the district, to take immediate action to patch up the sinkhole.
“I also think they should examine the cause of the problem to ensure it won’t happen again along that main road in future,” he said.
He said identifying the root cause of the sinkhole is important so that the necessary action can be taken by the concessionaire to remedy it soon as possible.
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“We don’t want a large portion of the road to collapse during another heavy rain in future because precautionary steps have not been taken where they should by the authorities or their contractors.
“They should immediately attend to all defects during this early stage of road construction in view of the rising number of users frequenting the stretch.
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“Vehicles from neighbouring Sarawak and even Brunei are often seen plying on this road to go to Kota Kinabalu,” he added.
A PWD spokeswoman, when contacted, said it was well aware of the situation as it also received a report about it from a member of the public on that day.
“The sinkhole occurred when the position of the culvert beneath that tarred surface went out of alignment during the incessant rain on that day,” she added.
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