The erection of the continuous cross-highway box girder with the largest span, a highly complex part of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, is completed on March 31, 2022. Photo: cnsphoto

 
The construction of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) hit another milestone on Thursday, with the erection of the continuous cross-highway box girder with the largest span, a highly complex part of the headline project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

The box girder spans an expressway linking Jakarta and Bandung with heavy traffic flows. Its erection involved many local government departments and complicated review procedures, China Railway International Co said in a statement sent to the Global Times. 

Factoring in the high safety requirements and the intense public attention it has drawn, the erection was extremely complex, said the statement.

It was the last key node of the HSR's box girder for the project's entirety.

In a bid to ensure a safe and smooth process, the No.4 beam fabrication yard of China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co, the project's contractor, devised work plans as regards cross-road girder construction, ground traffic management and safety precautions.

The Chinese contractor also had sufficient communication with multiple Indonesian government departments including the public works ministry and obtained the go-ahead for the cross-highway box girder.

Technicians were organized to conduct a comprehensive inspection of large equipment such as lifting racks to eliminate hidden troubles. Seven days prior to the box girder erection, banners were hung at the construction site for preliminary publicity. Three days before the construction began, local traffic broadcasts were used to remind passing vehicles of the road closure time.

On the day when the girder was erected, protective facilities such as traffic guidance signboards, reflective cones, water hoses, and night light belts were placed on the construction site in advance, read the statement, outlining efforts to prioritize safe construction of the key part of the HSR project. 

The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail line is a landmark BRI project signaling pragmatic cooperation between China and Indonesia. It connects Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, and Bandung, Indonesia's fourth-largest city, with a total length of 142 kilometers and a maximum design speed of 350 kilometers per hour. 

The project, according to China Railway International Co, is a poster child for Chinese high-speed rail's first systemic and whole-of-supply chains footprint overseas.

The railway, considered a link between the BRI and Indonesia's Global Maritime Fulcrum strategy, "will hopefully be put into operation in June 2023," the Xinhua News Agency reported in February. 

Upon completion, the journey from Jakarta to Bandung will be cut from the current three hours to 40 minutes, a huge boost for local economic development.

Global Times