Collapsed Cyberjaya flyover was closed for repairs, say PKNS, Works Ministry

A view of the collapsed flyover in Cyberjaya. PKNS and the Works Ministry say the collapsed flyover has been closed for repairs. – Photo by Choo Choy May

CYBERJAYA, Feb 28 – The flyover near the Selangor Science Park 2 (SSP2) here that collapsed today was closed for repair works since last November, the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) said today.

PKNS general manager Othman Omar said that the flyover, which was originally built by PKNS but has been handed over to highway operator PLUS Malaysia Berhad, was closed to repair a road that had begun to sink beneath it. However, PLUS has denied the flyover was handed to it, saying it is still under the purview of PKNS.

Othman said that both PKNS and PLUS began investigations last December after noticing damage to the flyover from excavation works.
“Before we could finish the investigation, the flyover has collapsed,” Othman told reporters here.

Minister of Works Datuk Seri Shaziman Abu Mansor said in a statement today that the flyover and the road below it were closed since December 7 last year, and will remain closed until December 31 this year, depending on the speed of repair works.

“On December 7, I visited the bridge after I was informed by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) that there was movements on one of the pillars at the Science Park 2 tiered interchange that connects to Putrajaya and Cyberjaya,” said Shaziman.

Shaziman’s statement was confirmed by PKNS’ deputy general manager Abdul Ghani Hashim, who said that four pillars on the Cyberjaya side suffered from structural problems.

According to PKNS, the peaty land in the area caused the road underneath to sink, causing PLUS to hire a third party to run repair works.

PKNS insisted that the flyover was in perfect condition when it was handed over to PLUS, but it was not designed to withstand deep excavation underneath which has caused structural disturbance.

Othman today promised that works to rebuild the flyover will be started as soon as possible, with clean-up expected to take three weeks, and construction another eight months.

“We don’t want this to be a war of pointing fingers ... We want to take pro-active measures, we will fix this first. Hopefully along the way we will resolve this issue,” he said.

The flyover collapsed around 12.30pm today and appeared to have been broken into two pieces, in the latest incident involving public works projects in the country.

PKNS confirmed that no one was hurt in the incident.

The flyover, which was closed last November, is an exit from the Elite Highway (KM P2.4) towards SSP2. The Lingkaran Putrajaya stretch managed by PLUS towards Putrajaya runs below it.

Works on the RM7 million flyover by contractor BNI Construction started on October 2007, and it was completed on November 2009. Four developers – PKNS, Utuh Aspirasi Sdn Bhd, Taraf Unggul Sdn Bhd, and Semai Ria Sdn Bhd – shared the cost for its construction.