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Case study

The study is focus on sinkhole that was happened in July 2014 at part of the road at the intersection of Jalan Pudu
and Jalan Hang Tuah. Two sinkholes, measuring 19m by 12m and 19m by 10m , have formed at the site during two
separate incidents, at 10.38 a.m. and 12.20 p.m. The collapse has damaged Syabas water pipes. A 600mm steel pipe
under the intersection broke at about 1pm after the road collapsed. In the incident, a section of the 35-metre tunnel
that was being constructed to build a four-lane underpass collapsed, creating a sinkhole as a deep as 20m by 10m in
total. There are many factors involved of the sinkhole happened from the investigation is because of the soil
movement that cause from ongoing construction work of an underground tunnel that is part of the Pudu Underpass
project by DBKL. On-site fire and rescue personnel also believed that heavy traffic was the cause of the collapse
and the cave-in had damaged the Syabas pipes. It is also because of soil erosion caused by a burst of water pipe had
caused water to seep into the area and weaken the soil structure. Sinkholes develop when water flows through pores
in bedrock and gradually enlarges them. When these subterranean cavities get big enough, the ground above
collapses and fills them in. The sinkhole happened because of the soil structure itself as Kuala Lumpur is situated on
alluvial plain underlain by the limestone so that the sinkhole happened lead to the burst of the water pipe belonging
to Syarikat Air Syabas. The other factor is the vibrations beneath the road caused by passing vehicles

Nearly half of Kuala Lumpur is situated on an alluvial plain underlain by limestone bedrock. The major problem
encountered in building on karstic bedrock is presence of highly irregular pinnacled surface and the common
occurrences of cavities in the rock. The pinnacled surfaces present considerable problems for foundation utilizing
hammer piles and as much as 60 percent of the piles may be lost due to their failure to be seated on these jagged
rock (tan 1986). Other problem include possible collapse of the roof of subterranean caverns by the imposition of
the load of the overlying man-made structure and land subsidence due to the collapse of overlying soil above
limestone cavities under the influence of groundwater fluctuation.

Kuala Lumpur was built on limestone bedrock. Sinkholes tended to occur with such a geological formation.
Limestone surfaces have a lot of cavities which are either hollow or filled with water. When the water-table is
lowered because of excavation work, the layer of soil or alluvium above the cavity will increase in weight because
the support from the water-table disappears. The increase in weight may cause the underside of the soil originally
covering the cavity to slowly collapse, creating a sinkhole when all the soil falls through.

To overcome this problem the backfill method was used to overcome the problem. the sinkhole that appeared at a
downtown intersection here fill up with sand to strengthen the base and prevent further soil movement, about 1,500
cubic metres of sand had been poured into the sinkhole at the Jalan Pudu, Jalan Imbi and Jalan Hang Tuah
intersection. Besides that, steel sheet pile was fitting in steel sheet pile to strengthen the soil, a permanent support
for the cables.

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