IPOH, April 22 - Construction of the Bailey Bridge to replace the Sungai Liat Bridge that collapsed last Saturday will begin tomorrow, and is expected to be ready for use on April 30.

Deputy Minister of Works Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the construction work of the 46-metre one-way bridge also involves repairing the existing road currently used by the public.

According to him, there is currently an alternative road provided for the local population, which is 1.7 kilometres long, but the road structure is not perfect.

"We hope it will be completed as expected, given that the bridge is used every day by residents living around this area," he said at a press conference after inspecting the location of the collapse in Felda Sungai Klah, here.

Also present was State Assemblyman (ADUN) Behrang Salina Samsudin.

According to Ahmad, the new bridge will be built to replace the collapsed bridge but it will depend on allocations from the state and central Public Works Departments (JKR).

Last Saturday, the Sungai Liat Bridge, which was the main route to the Felda Sungai Klah Hot Spring, Kampung Tisong, Sungkai and Buyong Mas Sanctuary Camp Site, collapsed. It is said to be caused by erosion that had been identified as affecting the structure of the bridge.

Yesterday, the chairman of the state Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Public Transport Committee, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, said a Bailey bridge would be built to temporarily replace the bridge.

Ahmad said a permanent bridge, estimated to cost about RM3 million, would be built at the location.

Meanwhile, Salina said her party hoped the bridge could be completed as expected, given that for now, residents in the affected area had to use an alternative route to Sungkai town.

“However, the 1.7-kilometre alternative route would have to go through an oil palm plantation road, and could only be passed or used by those with four-wheel drive vehicles,” she said.