Elevated Toll Road Not Yet Ready; Traffic Scheme to Be Set

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Greater Jakarta Transportation Agency (BPTJ) is preparing traffic engineering to reduce congestion along Jakarta-Cikampek toll road for the upcoming Eid homecoming season. The elevated toll road that was expected to be utilized for this year's mass exodus could not be operated yet.

“It turns out the elevated toll road construction has not finished yet, I’m currently looking for a strategy by opening one-way traffic in certain times,” said the BPTJ head Bambang Prihartono in The Westin Hotel, Jakarta, Tuesday, April 23.

According to Bambang, the scheme will be applied twice a day, in the morning and afternoon, for two hours per session. “For example, from 8 a.m until 10 p.m toward Cikampek,” he added, recalling that traffic engineering commonly used in Puncak route, Bogor, West Java.

Read also: Eid Homecoming; Transport Ministry Focuses on Safety Issues

Before implementing it, Bambang went on to say, the trial test will be carried out so people could schedule their travels in advance. However, he stopped short of detailing the time, pending on the coordination with National Police Traffic Corps to stimulate the scheme.

Nearing Eid homecoming season, Bambang said that he could not estimate the congestion level in Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, yet anticipated disturbance in the roadside that will likely cause density.

He also predicted people will be more enthusiastic in using the land route this year as the highway access has reached Surabaya, East Java. Thus, the build-up of vehicles on the toll road will be inevitable. “I’m a bit worried too,” Bambang said.

CAESAR AKBAR