Cracks in Luyang drain repaired after 3 years
Published on: Wednesday, April 14, 2021
By: Sidney Skinner
A City Hall contractor rebuilding the drain walls along Lorong Apens 1 in Luyang.
CITY HALL has repaired a roadside drain along Lorong Apens 1 in Luyang, three years after cracks started forming in the structure.A spokesman for the agency said an inspection carried out in the middle of March revealed that the walls of the structure were damaged.ADVERTISEMENT
“This has caused the common land and road in the vicinity to destabilise,” he said on April 12.
“Our contractor rebuilt the walls of the drain to prevent further erosion from occurring.”
He said horizontal concrete supports were also put in place to prevent the walls of the structure from caving in.
“We hope in this way to reduce the likelihood of the earth, on either side of the drain, from pushing against the drain walls.”ADVERTISEMENT
This action was prompted after a rate-payer spoke out about partial collapse of the verge near the playground for Taman Dixon.
He hoped City Hall would consider rebuilding both the road-shoulder and the drain, before the stretch nearby also destabilised.
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The homeowner provided Hotline with the location of the damage. This information was forwarded to the agency.
The spokesman said City Hall would periodically keep an eye on the condition of the drains in the neighbourhood.
He said it’s staff had been instructed to ensure these structures were in good order.
“Rate-payers should also alert us directly of any irregularities involving the drains so that action can be taken to deal with these problems as soon as possible,” he said.
“Structural maintenance is carried out as and when it becomes necessary to do so.”
For the past 3 years, cracks (in circle) have been spreading down the drain walls. The structure finally collapsed last year.
VINCENT of Luyang took City Hall to task for the three-year delay in attending to the damaged drain in Taman Dixon.
He first caught sight of a crack running down the side of concrete walls for the drain in April 2019.
“I related my observations to City Hall in that month and made three subsequent reports to the agency that year,” he said.
“At one stage, when I called to check on the progress of my complaint, I was told that the repairs had been included among the list of works for 2019.”
He said more cracks had formed while the agency dragged its feet over this matter.
Vincent contacted the agency several more times about the drain last year.
“In October, an entire section of the wall gave way and is now sitting at angle in the structure.”
He said the fallen concrete impeded the flow of water inside.
“The water in the drain overflows flooding the surrounding area, whenever there is a downpour.
After the water receded, he said those living in the neighbourhood were stuck with the frustrating task of having to get rid of the mud and sediment deposits left behind on the road.
“When the weather is dry, I suspect the water inside stagnates as a foul smell can be detected coming from the direction of the drain.
“I fear that this structure has become a breeding a ground for mosquitoes.”
Vincent said he last phoned City Hall about the drain in December.
“During that call, I appealed to the agency to have horizontal-supports put in place to prop up the fallen wall.
“Nothing has been done about placing the supports in the drain or having the wall rebuilt,” he told Hotline on March 10.
Worse still, he said he had seen cracks in another drain wall in the neighbourhood – this time at Lorong Apens.
“I have made City Hall aware of my observation but I fear that this report will be ignored as well.”
Horizontal supports (in circle) were put in place to prevent the drain walls from caving in.
He was at a loss to understand why structural maintenance was not carried out regularly on the drains in Taman Dixon.
“I feel it is unfair of the agency to keep collecting assessment from the residents for services which are, at best, unreliable.”
The spokesman said City Hall checked on the condition of the second drain, shortly after receiving the rate-payer’s report.
“Our officer confirmed that one section of a drain wall was cracked but, overall, the structure was found to be sound,” he said.
A second inspection was carried out after the media informed the agency about the damage, according to him.
“On this occasion, we found that horizontal supports had been put in place along the structure.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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“We suspect that some ‘Good Samaritan’ in the neighbourhood may have shouldered the cost for doing this.”
Nevertheless, he said, City Hall would arrange to have the drain walls reconstructed in future, should it prove necessary to do so.