Gao - Usaid road in Indonesia needs foreign assistance actions to ensure quality & sustainability
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The USAID road from Banda Aceh
to Calang Indonesia passes
through various geographic terrain
through its 91 mile length,
including inland urban areas
and small communities, mountain passes,
and coastal flatland; each impacting the design
and construction of the road.
We traveled this completed road
from its northern beginning to its southern end
in late March 2012
with USAID's road construction team leader,
Mr. Roy Ventura.
We highlight throughout this video a variety
of the road's features.
In addition we illustrate several issues
that could affect performance and safety
such as theft of guardrail,
encroachments to the right of way, repair,
and obstructions to water drainage mechanisms.
The road begins in an urban setting just south
of Banda Aceh.
At this point the USAID work consisted
of repaving the existing road.
Functioning businesses take the place
of a road shoulder in this section.
USAID constructed steel truss bridges
in various locations along the length
of the road.
The trucks seen crossing this bridge reflect the
typical trucks we observed using the road.
These bridges are equipped
with pedestrian walkways to protect individuals
from road traffic.
As seen here, guard railing
on the road shoulder has been subject
to unauthorized removal and theft.
Most of these vandalized sections
of railing have been replaced
by Indonesian authorities
and are clearly numbered and marked.
This flat section of road near kilometer 27,
leads to a section
where a mountain cut was made.
Small rock debris from the cliff face,
seen on the road shoulder,
is periodically cleaned
by Indonesian authorities.
It is expected that the slope should further
stabilize in the near future.
Here is an example of a slope stabilized
with Gabion boxes, which are wire baskets filled
with broken rock.
In this mountainous section near kilometer 35,
a channel was installed along the road's edge
for drainage.
The mountain passes are narrow repaved sections
of the pre-tsunami road.
Structural repairs were made
to the road before it was repaved.
In this section the road is buffered
by guard rails, is narrow,
and has a series of sharp turns,
which slows the flow of traffic significantly.
Speed is restricted to 12-25 miles per hour.
Before turning the road
over to local government,
USAID's contractor was completing repairs
to sections of the road near kilometer 46
as part of its warranty obligation.
Since our visit,
USAID has informed us
that these repairs were completed in mid-April.
USAIDs road construction team leader,
Mr. Roy Ventura will explain how the
unauthorized construction of a local business
on the road's right of way
at kilometer 50 can lead to obstruction
of water drainage and flooding.
The right of way is roughly 30 meters wide
and serves a variety of purposes,
including water sequestration and road support.
>> This is a new business.
This is entirely on the right of way.
I tried to get them
to stop before they before they ever built it
but nobody listened.
[ Pause ]
that’s where the right of way ends
>>This is where the right of way ends
What's gonna happen is that's gonna be filled in
that’s gonna block the drainage
So when this water comes
down off the hillside it's gonna come
down through here and come out on the road >> Yeah.
>>Is this is the biggest box culvert you guys
had to put in?
>> Yeah.
>>Box culverts are used in certain areas
to direct the flow of water
and mitigate potential road damage
from flooding.
Notice that debris is beginning to collect
at the culvert entrance.
If debris is not cleared,
it can potentially block the flow of water.
It is essential that local authorities
periodically clear this debris in order
to maintain water flow.
Roy Ventura stated
that local authorities are doing so.
A building was constructed only a few meters
away from the outlet of this culvert.
Roy Ventura stated that the outlet
on the culvert's opposite side has been blocked
due to local development.
As a result, this building is
at high risk of flooding.
>>It's gonna flood those people right there
because they're about 3 meters lower than the road
and then they're gonna be sorry.
>>As part of the road construction environmental
mitigation program,
USAID planted over 20,000 mangrove trees.
>>It's a mitigation.
So where they did damage someplace else,
they have to do something environmentally
in terms of repair.
>>Here is a clear juxtaposition
of the new USAID road
and the old road destroyed by the tsunami.
You can clearly see the proximity of the road
to the coastline and how the new road is
at a higher elevation than the old road.
During construction of the road,
decisions were made knowing
that risks were not being fully mitigated.
For example, here's an image
of a drainage channel installed alongside
the road.
The outflow from this channel runs directly
down to a village at the base of a small hill.
Roy Ventura stated
that this drain was originally intended to empty
into a natural spring channel south
of the present location.
But the local community objected due
to its proximity to a gravesite
and insisted the drainage be placed
at its present location.
Roy Ventura made community officials aware
of the flooding risk to this small village.
Local officials acknowledged the risk
and indicated they would address the issue
in the future.
>> We're looking at water running right
into somebody's house.
>> Yeah, right through...
>> Exactly.
So...So that's exactly what I said;
I said its gonna flood that house
if you get heavy flow and its gonna flood
that one and its gonna flood that one.
He said, "We don't care."
I said are you saying you want it here
and you will accept responsibility
for flooding that house?
He said, "Yes."
>>This drain collects water flow
from the hillside and directs it away
from the road and into underground pipes.
Following two road failures resulting
from contractors' improper fill
and compaction construction underneath the road
base, USAID decided
to bolster their slope stabilization,
as seen here.
Local seismic activity has triggered slope
erosion and road damage.
In order to prevent road damage
from future occurrences,
USAID has developed a retainer
and drainage system as seen here.
In Indonesia, it is not uncommon for road repair
and construction to be completed by hand.
As the road passes
through costal flatland areas,
the road is relatively strait
and has paved shoulders, as you can see here.
The design speed
for the road is 50 miles per hour
and can accommodate 68 miles per hour
on all new sections.
It took us roughly 2 hours
to drive the 91 mile USAID road,
or roughly 45 miles per hour on the average.
This point marks the end of the USAID road,
and the beginning
of the approximately 60 mile road
from Calang to Meulaboh.
This road continuation from Calang
to Meulaboh was originally repaved
by the Japanese and was designed
to last three years.
This stretch of road is now undergoing
reconstruction under several World Bank financed
construction contracts.
The work is all within the existing narrow right
of way and follows the pre-tsunami
road alignment.
The work complies
with significantly relaxed design
and construction requirements and is not
in accordance with Indonesia's current National
Highway standards.
Roughly 75 percent of the road is currently
under construction.
It took us 2 hours and 5 minutes
to complete a non-stop trip on this road,
or roughly 30 miles per hours on the average.
[Silence]
