Challenge for the Design and Construction of Jakarta MRT from Geotechnical and Traffic Engineering Perspectives

Abstract

Traffic condition in Jakarta has reached critical level without the support of adequate public transportation. Jakarta MRT is another transportation mode proposed for the solution. However, this system will not respond to the issue without integration with existing transportation modes i.e., Bus-Trans-Jakarta and LRT. This paper discusses the geotechnical and traffic engineering aspects of the design and construction of Jakarta MRT. In geotechnical perspectives, the fact that soil conditions in Jakarta are soft, so construction requires careful design and method to reduce disturbance to existing traffic conditions. Diaphragm wall used with top-down construction has been proved as the best solution and the use of TBM is required. In traffic engineering perspectives, all existing transportation modes are considered in the determination of MRT station locations as well as the challenge of substructures construction in the soft soil area. Considering public safety during construction, it has been designed with combined elevated railways at the south corridor and subway in the northern corridor.  This study concluded that the selection of the station locations considering integrated all public transportation modes is a must and the construction method for subsurface structures should be selected carefully to reduce traffic disturbance in Jakarta and to keep public safety.