ECRL Tunnel 2 remains intact – KL-Karak sinkhole due to soil settlement from construction works, says MRL

Malaysia Rail Link (MRL), the project owner of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), said the Bentong Tunnel 2 remains intact, with the structure not showing signs of collapse despite the sinkhole that occurred on the Kuala Lumpur-Karak highway (KLK) near the Bentong toll plaza earlier this week.

In a statement, it said that further investigations at the site revealed there were no signs of stress or collapse of the ECRL tunnel structure located beneath the KLK, and that the tunnel is structurally safe for construction work to resume.

The sinkhole was believed to have been caused by soil settlement as a result of ECRL works in the vicinity. In a statement, MRL said the soil settlement at the tunnel face area was an isolated incident, which has since been rectified, the New Straits Times reports.

The nearly 10 metre-wide sinkhole occurred at 8:34 pm on Tuesday (July 25) on KM 66.1 of the KLK. Prior to that, MRL had alerted highway operator Anih after soil movements were detected in the vicinity, prompting the closure of the expressway in both directions at the stretch.

Repair work was promptly carried out, and the eastbound lanes towards Kuantan were reopened yesterday night at around 11.30 pm. The westbound lanes from Kuantan to KL remain closed at time of writing, but the highway is now passable to traffic in both direction with the activation of a two km contra-flow lane from KM 65.9 to KM 67.9.

MRL said that it, along with the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contractor, CCC-ECRL, will carry out a thorough and detailed investigation into the sinkhole incident, and provide the findings and proposed recommendations, if any, as a result of this investigation.

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