Tangerang to Add More Access Roads to Soekarno-Hatta Airport
22 September 2014 16:44 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tangerang's city administrator plans to increase access into Soekarno-Hatta International airport from both Tangerang and Jakarta by building more access roads and improving the capacities of existing roads.
The infrastructure development project - which is a part of Soekarno-Hatta's expansion project - aims to reduce the strain on existing roads leading to the airport. "We hope to decrease the congestion on the roads heading to the airport," said the head of road and bridges construction at Tangerang's Public Works Agency, Ikhsan, to Tempo on Monday, September 22, 2014.
Ikhsan said that all airport access roads will be connected to the main road network, and integrated with the public transportation system which is being developed by Tangerang's city administration. "Residents and travellers will have plenty of options to get to the airport," said Ikhsan.
One of the new roads that is being prepared is Jl. STA II that connects Jakarta with Soekarno-Hatta Airport. The 15 km stretch of road is a 34-meters wide, two lane, secondary, non-toll airport access road that will run from Karang Tengah rest area to Green Light housing estate, Jl. Daan Mogot, and onwards to Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
"The road is 65 percent completed and we aim to open the road for public use by the end of the year," said Ikhsan.
The plan to develop Jl. STA II was first proposed in 2005, but construction only began in 2010 when the developer of Green Light housing estate requested a direct road access to the airport. "The necessary licenses were then granted, which allowed the developers to extend and expand the road through to the airport," said Ikhsan.
According to Ikhsan, motorists heading to and from the airport could use the road to circumvent the tollway altogether. "Motorists can exit at Alam Sutera and onwards to the airport," he explained.
Another road that is being constructed will run through Blok Teko from Neglasari to Jatiuwung. The 10 kilometre road will be divided into three segments, and is built to provide residents of west Tangerang with easy access to the airport. "In the future, residents could use this road as an alternative to the congested main roads," said Ikhsan.
The Head of Transportation Systems Development at Tangerang's Transport Agency Agus Wibowo said that adding more roads and expanding the capacity of existing roads will aid with traffic congestion by balancing the ratio between road users and available roads. "This will have an impact on traffic flow on Tangerang's roads," said Agus.
According to Agus, access to Soekarno-Hatta needs to be improved because the ongoing expansion of the airport will significantly increase the airport's passenger handling capacity. "Tangerang will become a gateway for domestic and international passengers," he said.
The executive director of Angkasa Pura II Tri S. Sunuko said that access to and from Soekarno-Hatta needs to be prepared and expanded before the airport expansion project is completed because, according to Angkasa Pura II's masterplan, the expansion will increase the airport's capacity from 22 million passengers to 61 million passengers - an increase of 177 percent.
Other related infrastructure projects include the construction of a rail link to and from the airport, and the construction of the Kunciran-Airport section of the Jakarta Outer Ring Road II.
JONIANSYAH