ASKİ General Directorate took action to solve the problem of the region, which has been waiting for a solution for 20 years, as Lalegül Junction in Yenimahalle district. The old pipes at the point where the density of drinking water, wastewater, storm water lines and other infrastructure are highest were replaced with new concrete pipes. The line, which has been stabilized by repairing the cracks in the rainwater collector line, will no longer pose a danger to life safety if a new failure does not occur.
At the junction of Şehit Cem Ersever Caddesi (Lalegül Junction) and 417th Street in Demetgül District of Yenimahalle district, where drinking water, wastewater and rain water lines pass, collapses in a radius of 3 meters and a depth of 2 meters after heavy rains were life-threatening. Solving the problems of the capital Ankara, which have accumulated over the years, by discussing them one by one, ASKİ stabilized the line by replacing the old pipes with new concrete pipes.
ASKİ General Manager Erdoğan Öztürk supervised the works carried out on the street with his technical team. Providing information about the studies, Öztürk said, "The collapses in question were of such dimensions as to threaten the lives of our citizens living here, unfortunately. Therefore, we experienced such an event yesterday (May 31, 2023). As a result of the collapse of our thousand mm waste water line, there were breaks on the surface. Even when the material was filled, there was a serious blockage in the line,” he said.
CRITICAL WORK
Noting that they started to work on replacing the pipes after the last trouble, Öztürk said, “We provided stability with the concrete placed at critical points. We changed pipes about 3-4 people in length. We have carried out an extremely critical work in the region, since both the wastewater and rain water lines, as well as the drinking water line of 2 thousand 200, are in the same place”. Öztürk shared the following information:
“I say critical because damage to the drinking water main would mean that vast residential areas would be without water for a while. That's why we did a delicate study. Temporary solutions were produced by intervening in large collapses in the region with pipes before, but now we have replaced all parts of the collapsed area with concrete pipes. As a result of the collapses on the ground in heavy rains, serious wear occurred in the pipes in our line, but thus we produced a permanent solution. There will be no more collapses in this area. “
“WE HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A COMPREHENSIVE WORK BEFORE”
Ferhat Uğurlu, who works as a tradesman on the street, thanked the General Manager Öztürk and ASKİ teams and said, “This is an important street; a road that connects everywhere. We have not seen such a comprehensive study in this region until now. For 20-25 years, this place has been crashing 10 times a year. They would come and throw dirt on it and pour asphalt. So it was a constant expense. Hopefully this time there will be a radical solution. This place has collapsed maybe 40 times so far, I hope this time will be the last, good luck to you," he said.
Demetgül Neighborhood Headman İsmail Tutal said, “We had such a problem for about 20 years. We always had this problem when it rained. Due to serious collapses, human life was endangered and our vehicles were damaged. Now there were legends such as 'the fault line passes under it'. We were in constant anxiety when it rained. Thank you very much for solving this problem. Hopefully it won't happen again," he said.
Tradesman Mustafa Çakır said: “Since this job is a bit of a strenuous job, they have always progressed with temporary solutions until now. I think the current process will be permanent. We don't want to keep the municipality's truck busy all the time, we want it to be done once and for all.”