Kelok 9 or Kelok Sembilan is a winding road segment located about 30 km east of

Payakumbuh Payakumbuh (Indonesian: Kota Payakumbuh, Minangkabau: Payokumbuah, Jawi: ) is the second largest city in West Sumatra province, Indonesia, with a population of 116,825 at the 2010 Census and 139,576 at the 2020 Census. It covers an area of 80.4 ...

, in the

West Sumatera West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 ce ...

province of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Kelok Sembilan means 9 sharp turns. This road stretches through Jorong Aie Putiah, Nagari Sarilamak, Harau sub-district of

Lima Puluh Kota Regency Lima Puluh Kota Regency (meaning ''fifty towns'' in the Minangkabau language) is a regency ''(kabupaten)'' of West Sumatra province, Indonesia. It has an area of 3,354.53 km2 and had a population of 348,249 at the 2010 census and 383,525 at t ...

of West Sumatera and is part of the interconnecting road link between Central Sumatra and the East Coast of Sumatra. The road has a sharp bend, bordering on a ravine, and flanked by two hills between two nature reserves: the White Water Reservation and the Harau Nature Reserve. The new overpass/flyover/bridge was officially inaugurated by then President

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to by his initials SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party ...

in October 2013.

History

The road has existed since Dutch East Indies government between 1908-1914.Kelok 9
di situs resmi Kabupaten Lima Puluh Kota. This road winds across the

Bukit Barisan The Bukit Barisan or the Barisan Mountains are a mountain range on the western side of Sumatra, Indonesia, covering nearly 1,700 km (1,050 mi) from the north to the south of the island. The Bukit Barisan range consists primarily of volc ...

that extends from north to south of

Sumatra Island Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), n ...

. If it is stretched straight, the length of the turn around was only 300 meters with a width of 5 meters and a height of about 80 meters. In 2000, vehicle traffic between

West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5, ...

and

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accord ...

had reached between 9,000 and 11,000 vehicles a day carrying about 15.8 million people and about 28.5 million tons of goods a year. Half of the goods transported are agricultural and livestock. Due to the narrowing of road in the turn around, the journey from

Bukittinggi Bukittinggi ( min, Bukiktinggi, Jawi: , formerly nl, Fort de Kock) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010 and 121,028 in 2020, and an area of 25.24 km2. It is in the Minangkabau Highlands ...

Pekanbaru Pekanbaru is the capital of Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern part of Sumatra, Sumatra Island. Its name is derived from the Malay language, Malay words for 'new market' ('pekan' is market and 'baru' is new). ...

which should be taken within 4 hours, can take 5 to 6 hours. Addressing this issue, the Kelok 9 overpass construction began in November 2003 after obtaining central government approval through the National Development Planning Agency in August 2003.

Overpass

Construction of Kelok 9 overpasses began in 2003. It was built over the old Kelok 9. The work was handled in two stages of development. The total length of the bridge and road built is 2,537 meters, consisting of six bridges with a length of 959 meters and a connecting road along 1,537 meters."Jembatan Kelok Sembilan Selesai 2013"
. 5 September 2011. Kementerian Pekerjaan Umum Indonesia. Kelok Kelang bridge 9 consists of six bridges and has a width of 12.5 meters wide road. The first bridge spans have a length of 20 meters, a second span of 230 meters, and a third span 65 meters. The fourth span has a length of 462 meters. The fourth bridge span is a type of concrete arch bridge with a bore pile as deep as 20 meters to hold the bridge weight and the horizontal force of an earthquake. The fifth bridge spans a length of 31 meters and a sixth span of 156 meters. The cost of the project was US$49.5 million.

References

{{Reflist Sumatra Highways in Indonesia Asian Highway Network Bridges in Indonesia

History

Overpass

See also

References