Abidin taking a closer look at the loose concrete on the overhead bridge at Segama shopping area.
KOTA KINABALU: Immediate remedial works will be carried out by City Hall on the Segama overhead pedestrian bridge.
Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir however said despite the loose concrete seen on a section of the said bridge, he assured the public that the bridge is structurally safe.
A consultant company, Kumpulan IKRAM (Sabah) Sdn. Bhd. has been appointed by City Hall to check on the safety of the said pedestrian bridge, he said after leading a team from DBKK to inspect the site yesterday.
Vincent Tan Hing Kui of IKRAM who was on-site said the loose concrete would not cause the bridge to collapse and it was only the loose concrete that was falling.
As an immediate solution, the Mayor has ordered work to begin immediately and to scrap the loose concrete in order to prevent it from falling on the public.
Abidin however said no hawkers would be allowed to operate under the particular section of the bridge for the next few days and part of the road had to be closed to enable repair works to be done.
Earlier, City Hall had also cordoned part of the parking bays under the affected section to prevent the public from entering the area.
As for a long term solution, Abidin said the consultant would be doing testing on the whole bridge, which was built in the late 70s when sea sand was used as building material.
Apart from the overhead pedestrian bridge, the Mayor also noted loose concrete on the Segama Shopping Complex adjacent to the overhead pedestrian bridge.
To this, he directed all building owners, not only at the Segama Shopping Complex, to carry out immediate repair works on their building structure.
He added that building owners were responsible for the structural checks and maintenance of their own premises.
City Hall, according to him, had in fact started issuing notices/reminders to shop houses and building owners since 2013, ordering them to carry out remedial or repair works on their respective building.
The notices/reminders, according to him, were issued to shop houses in the older areas of Kg Air, Segama, Sinsuran, Old KK, Bandaran Berjaya, Tanjung Aru, Jalan Pantai and Lido.
Contents of the notices and reminders include instructions to repair damaged structures on five foot walkways, damaged or fallen canopies, damaged building structures, damaged and leaking pipes, damaged sewer pipes, and damaged rain water chutes, among others.
The Mayor called upon building owners not to ignore the notices/reminders given to them, as according to him, action would be taken against them.