TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Long queues of homecomers are evident on the Java’s northern coastal highway (Pantura) on Thursday, July 31, 2014. According to Tempo’s observation, lines of homecoming vehicles have reached five kilometers, spanning from Tani to Weru areas in Cirebon.
Cirebon Police have taken several measures to ease the traffic, among them by prioritizing vehicles from Cirebon heading to Jakarta.
“We have turned off the Weru traffic light,” said Cirebon Police’s traffic unit chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Erwinsyah, adding that this aimed at avoiding increased traffic along the route.
Cirebon Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Dani Kustoni said the police had yet to carry out traffic diversion. “If congestion has reached Tegalkarang, then we will divert the traffic,” he said.
Dani said vehicles from Central Java would be directed to take the Cirebon-Kapetaan-Indramayu route, which was locally known as the central Pantura route. He added the police would apply the open-close system depending on the situation.
According to the data from the Losari police post, the number of vehicles passing the route has reached 2,372 motorcycles and 631 cars per hour.
IVANSYAH