History
The bridge was built by a consortium of Indonesian companies PT Adhi Karya and PT Waskita Karya working with China Road and Bridge Corp. and China Harbor Engineering Co. Ltd. The total cost of the project, including connecting roads, has been estimated at 4.5 trillion rupiah (US$445 million).
Construction began in August 2003. In July 2004, a girder collapsed, killing one worker and injuring nine others. Work on the bridge halted at the end of 2004 due to lack of funds, but was restarted in November 2005. The main span of the bridge was connected on 31 March 2009, and the bridge was opened to the public on 10 June 2009.
Tolls were initially set at Rp. 30,000 (US$3 in 2009) for four-wheeled vehicles and Rp. 3,000 (US$0.30) for two-wheelers.
Within a week of the opening, it was discovered that nuts and bolts as well as maintenance lamps had been stolen and that there was evidence of vandalism of cables supporting the main span.
The successful completion of the Suramadu bridge has encouraged interest in the possibility of constructing a much larger Sunda Strait Bridge across the Sunda Strait at the western end of Java. The bridge was shown both at the introduction and episode 2 of The Amazing Race 21.
Read more about this topic: Suramadu Bridge
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