Landslides mar Fraser's beauty

Landslides mar Fraser's beauty
By : Elizabeth John

The massive landslide that left a gaping hole in the side of the hill and severed the alternative road up to Fraser's Hill.


What's been keeping the alternate route up to scenic Fraser's Hill closed? A massive slope failure that makes for dramatic pictures and calls for a long, expensive bridge, ELIZABETH JOHN writes.


The Kuala Kubu Baru-Raub road which was also damaged by debris flow from the landslide that hit Route 148 above it.

WHAT is a yawning gap in Route 148 today began as a small landslide in December on this alternative road up to the popular holiday resort of Fraser's Hill.

The Public Works Department appointed a contractor to carry repairs but just a week later, another slope failed in the same spot and worsened for a time.

Now there is little choice but to build a bridge across the chasm, says the Slope Engineering branch, to reconnect the severed road.

The initial landslide was brought on by heavy rain and continued to grow with time, said branch director Datuk Dr Ashaari Mohamad.

The debris flow from the landslide was so bad it destroyed a portion of the Kuala Kubu Baru-Raub road, hundreds of metres downhill.

It had to be closed for repairs too.

The division has been carrying out several studies in the area since and is expected to start repair works soon.

"It will be a costly repair and a lot of work will have to be done to stabilise the slope.

"Soil investigation and design work has been carried out but the repairs will take time," said Ashaari.

The Kuala Kubu Baru-Raub road or Route 55 will most likely be opened to traffic by the end of next month. Preliminary repair works are being carried out now while a permanent solution to the problem is being sought.

Route 148 was opened in the mid-1990s in the hilly area that is prone to landslides.

On average, about 500 cars use that road a day.

"Probably at the time, people were not familiar with slope engineering or the complicated geology of the area."

Since its inception, the division has done a hazard and risk map for the road and many areas have been found to be at a high risk of landslides.

Ashaari said it would take a lot of money to carry out all the mitigation steps necessary.

It isn't just the Fraser's Hill alternative route that is getting the division's attention.

It has begun a major exercise to collect data on slopes along all roads in the country.

There is a list of high-risk slopes but it only includes those reported by district engineers, said Ashaari.

It will tell the division which ones require mitigation and maintenance work as well as the budget required for it.

The division is also carrying out a very detailed study of a 100sq km section of the Ampang-Hulu Kelang hills, which are highly prone to landslides.

The study will help build a hazard and risk map, which the division will use to advise the local council.

If the pilot project is successful, the division will carry out similar ones in landslide-prone areas in other states.

The project is likely to be completed by September, said Ashaari.

The division will also spend RM5 million over the next three years on public awareness, to educate the public, politicians and school children about landslides.

They launched the project last month in Selangor, Penang, Pahang, Perak and Sabah.

The campaigns teach people about how to identify risks and how to maintain their areas.