Toll Roads Congested, Arterial Roads Smooth
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – A surge in the volume of vehicles in the homebound exodus has been seen on Wednesday (21/6), causing some points along the Cikopo-Palimanan toll road to become congested. In contrast, homebound travelers that avoided the toll roads and traveled on the northern coastal and southern highways experienced smooth traffic conditions.
Based on Kompas’ observation Wednesday, traffic congestion occurred at a number of areas of the Jakarta-Cikampek and Cikopo-Palimanan toll roads, especially leading up to rest areas. The traffic jams were worse at night, when more vehicles entered the toll roads from Jakarta.
According to Cikarang Utama tollgate head Hervian, the recorded volume of vehicles entering toll roads from Jakarta heading toward Cikampek on Wednesday between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. numbered 74,789 vehicles. This figure is an increase from the same period the previous day, which was 69,000 vehicles.
The number of vehicles is also expected to increase on Thursday and Friday. The Transportation Ministry has predicted that the peak of the homebound exodus will be on Friday, with the number of vehicles traversing the Cikarang Utama toll road predicted to reach 120,680 vehicles a day.
Smooth-flowingarteries
Unlike the congested toll roads, traffic flow along the 130-kilometer northern coastal (pantura) highway of Cikampek-Pamanukan (Subang regency) has been smooth all the way to Palimanan (Cirebon regency) with almost no traffic jams. On Wednesday night, the road was quiet, with only a few vehicles on the route.
In contrast, the Cipali toll road saw traffic congestion starting at Km 92 and growing heavier at Km 126 before the Cikedung toll gate. From this point, vehicles could only move at a speed of 30 kilometer per hour up until Km 166.
Travelingthe 40 kilometers from Km 126 to Km 166 up to the Sumberjaya toll road (Majalengka regency) took around 2.5 hours on Wednesday.
The volume of homebound travelers queuing to enter the rest area and the abundance of vehicles were the main causesof the traffic jam. The congestion recurs at the Palimanan toll gate(Km 190).
The Brebes-Gringsing emergency toll road saw a 1.5-kilometer stretch of congestion at the Gringsing exit, caused by traffic at the junction ofthe toll road with the northern coastal highway.
‘Emergency road’
After surveying the Brebes-Grinsing functional toll road, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has changed its name to “emergency road”.
“There have been complaints from people on the roads saying that it is dusty and has minimal lighting. There have also been three accidents. Because of this, after a meeting with the (Central Java) Police chief, the Land Transportation director general, the Bina Marga director general, as well as a few others, it was decided that the road would be simply called an emergency road. The head of Korlantas (National Police Traffic Corps), who is in command, has also agreed,” Budi said.
He added that the meeting also decided that the Brebes-Gringsing emergency road will be open only 12 hours a day from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Vehicles already on the road after 6:00 p.m. would be allowed to continue on their journeys.
The emergency road may be reopened after 6:00 p.m. if the northern coastal highway and the southern highway are experiencing severe congestion.
Budi also stressed the limited capacity of the Cipali toll road and other roads leading to the Brebes toll road, in addition to the emergency road to Gringsing. Even though the police will implement the counter flow system, homebound travelers were urged to try and not take the Brebes-Gringsing emergency road. The northern coastal highway, the southern highway and the central highway can be used as alternatives.
The southern highway can be accessed from Jakarta through Bandung, Tasikmalaya, and Banjar, and taken all the way to Central Java. It can also be accessed from the Pejagan toll road to the south.
The central highway to Central Java can be accessed by a number of roads from the northern coastal highway or from the Brebes-Grinsing emergency toll road, traveling from Tegal to Slawi and on to Randu Dongkal toward Banjarnegara.
From Banjarnegara, travelers can head toward the Wonosobo-Temanggung route to Secang, and then to Yogyakarta or Semarang.
Traffic jam hotspots
The Kompas observation found that the road between the Grinsgsing toll gate and Semarang would be the site of a new traffic jam, where a large flow of traffic will enter an already busy road.
It is predicted that the worst congestion will occur from the border of Kendal to the Krapyak toll gate in Semarang. The narrow road, the many intersections and the absence of alternative roads will make the Semarang-Kendal road extremely congested.
Traveling a distance of 10 km on the Semarang-Kendal road can take up to 3 hours under normal traffic conditions, so travel time is expected to be even longer with the homebound traffic.
Central Java traffic police director Sr. Comr. Bakharuddin said that traffic engineering strategies would be implemented on arterial roads leading to the Krapyak toll gate. The road to Semarang will be turned into three lanes, while the road out of Semarang will be turned into a single lane using the counter flow system.
Potential for congestion also exists at the Bawen-Salatiga toll road exit, where the narrow, 2-km exit road heading to the Semarang-Solo road will create a new problem.
Meanwhile, the Transportation Ministry is running a free program for homebound motorcycle travelers at Tanjung Priok Port, which has transported as many as 1,774 people and 835 motorcycles to Semarang on the KM Dobonsolo ship.
(IKI/KRN/DIT/NSA/BKY/RWN/UTI/ILO/D15/D13)