Heavy rain causes cave in on parts of Pan Borneo highway

BINTULU (Dec 12): Man may build but sometimes Mother Nature shows her greater strength. A torrential deluge at around 4pm yesterday resulted in parts of the Pan Borneo Highway collapsing.

According to a report by the New Straits Times, several sections of the highway at KM48 of Jalan Bintulu-Tatau were badly damaged at 4.45pm yesterday.

A Sarawak Disaster Management Committee spokesperson told the English language daily that contractors were in the midst of diverting traffic on the highway.

“At the moment, contractors who are involved with the highway project are constructing a temporary road and at the same time easing the traffic at the location,” he said.

Highway users from Bintulu or Sibu have been advised to use alternative routes in Kuala Balingian – Kuala Tatau to avoid the collapsed parts.

The daily also reported that the contractor company has installed “a geotechnical engineer to monitor the soil movement at the location”.