Project Overview
Indonesia’s Trans-Sumatra Toll Road is a $37 billion megaproject spanning 2,704 kilometers across Sumatra, home to 55 million people. The expressway will reduce logistics costs by 30% and cut journey times in half, transforming the island’s economic potential.
Roctest, through distributor PT. Teknindo Geosistem Unggul, supports construction on the Palembang section with advanced monitoring technology for safe building on challenging terrain.
Challenges
Sumatra’s soft clay and peat deposits have low bearing capacity, making them unsuitable for heavy infrastructure without soil improvement. Contractors use vacuum consolidation to strengthen soil by removing water and increasing density, but this creates unique monitoring demands.
The method generates both vacuum and effective soil pressure, producing negative pressure readings that standard instruments cannot measure accurately. Pressure measurement errors can trigger catastrophic embankment failures, endangering workers and causing massive delays.
Project scale adds logistical complexity—monitoring equipment must withstand frequent transport over rough terrain across substantial distances while maintaining calibration accuracy.
Solution
Roctest’s Vibrating Wire Piezometers continuously monitor pore water pressure, accurately measuring both positive and negative pressures in harsh conditions. This precision prevents embankment failures during soil improvement work.
Inclinometer Systems track lateral deformation in real time, verifying soil stability as fill is placed. This early warning system enables contractors to adjust loading rates or implement stabilization before critical conditions develop.
Robust construction ensures instruments withstand transport challenges and remain ready for immediate deployment, eliminating schedule delays.
Conclusion
Roctest’s monitoring provides continuous verification that consolidation progresses as designed and embankments remain stable. This enables contractors to optimize construction sequences and accelerate timelines where safe.
Embankment failures cost months of delays, millions in remediation, and risk worker safety. Roctest’s monitoring eliminates these risks, ensuring the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road is built safely, efficiently, and to the quality standards Indonesia’s infrastructure demands.
Download the full case study.
