DEPUTY Works Minister Ahmad Maslan has announced plans for the construction of a permanent bridge at KM73, Section 102 of the Kuantan-Segamat highway, intending to replace the Bailey bridge in response to a recent sinkhole on the road.

He said that his ministry has submitted a funding application of RM17 million to the Economy and Finance Ministries for the proposed permanent bridge construction.

“We plan to build a permanent bridge on the original route to replace the Bailey bridge that was temporarily installed. The construction is estimated to take two or three years,” he told reporters after inspecting the Bailey bridge today.

Ahmad said the installation of the Acrow 700XS Bailey bridge, which is 30.4m long and 9.3m wide, was only three days after it started on January 11.

However, he said the road could not yet be opened to the public as it had not yet been tarred due to the persistent rain, although premix works would be done immediately depending on the weather.

He said the cost of the tarred road works was RM550,000.

Ahmad said apart from Pekan, two other Bailey bridges were constructed in Malacca and Jeli, Kelantan, following disasters during the monsoon season. – Bernama, January 18, 2024.