Traffic Engineering

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Toll road congestion – Hundreds of cars and cargo trucks pass the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road on Wednesday (12/19/2018). In addition to ongoing construction on the elevated toll road and light rail transit (LRT) nearby, the increasing number of heavy trucks is contributing to toll road congestion

BANGKALAN, KOMPAS — The trans-Java toll road is expected to facilitate the flow of vehicles during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holiday. However, traffic engineering still needs to be prepared.

The trans-Java toll road linking Jakarta to Surabaya is finally completed and can be used during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holiday. Today, Thursday (20/12/2018), President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will inaugurate seven of the toll road sections while testing the Surabaya-Semarang route.

"The Surabaya-Jakarta toll road segment was completed on Thursday. Seven sections will be opened," said President Jokowi in Bangkalan regency, Madura, East Java, Wednesday.

The three of the seven toll road sections to be inaugurated are in Central Java, namely the Pemalang-Batang, Batang-Semarang and Salatiga-Kartasura sections. The total length of the three toll road sections is 142 kilometers. The four other toll road sections are in East Java, namely Wilangan-Kertosono, Kertosono-Bandar, Porong-Gempol and Pasuruan-Grati. The four toll road sections have a total length of 59 kilometers.

Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said the seven toll road sections could be used by the public during the Christmas and New Year holiday free of charge.

PT Jasa Marga (Persero) noted that vehicle flow during the Christmas and New Year holiday was expected to peak on Dec. 22, 2018. At that peak period, the number of vehicles at the Cikarang Utama tollgate leading to Cikampek is predicted to be 85,000. This is a 33 percent increase from normal days.

Meanwhile, the peak of the Christmas backflow is expected to occur on Dec. 25, 2018. The number of vehicles at the Cikarang Utama tollgate, which leads to Jakarta, is predicted to reach 92,000. This figure is 62.7 percent more than normal.

Anticipating congestion

Although the homecoming flow is expected to be smoother, there is still a possibility of congestion. A number of strategies and traffic engineering have been prepared to control traffic density, including a restriction on freight vehicles, the application of a contraflow lane system and a temporary stoppage on infrastructure work.

National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said there were several potentially dense and congested sections, starting from Cikampek, Cipali, to the Semarang-Batang, and Salatiga-Kartasura sections. There will also be problems in the rest areas as vehicles parked on the side of the toll roads could cause congestion.

"If it is very crowded, one-way traffic flow will be applied. Traffic engineering outside the toll roads will also be carried out to overcome congestion," said Tito.

Budi Setiyadi, Director General of Land Transportation at the Transportation Ministry, said the restriction on the transportation of goods by vehicles with three or more axles on a number of toll roads and national roads would be implemented. Freight trucks will be prohibited from using the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road on Dec. 21-22, 2018, but those heading for Jakarta will be permitted. Freight trucks will be prohibited from traveling toward Jakarta only on Dec. 25, 2018.

“This also applies to the Cikampek toll road heading toward Bandung, Merak and the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR). It also applies on national roads, namely from Medan to Berastagi in North Sumatra. The restriction also applies after Christmas, from Dec. 28, 2018 until Jan. 1, 2019,"said Budi. He also urged travelers not to use toll roads if congestion was severe.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said construction on the elevated Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train and the Jabodebek light rapid transit (LRT) along the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road would be temporarily halted before Christmas until New Year\'s, or on Dec. 21-22 and from Dec. 25, 2018, to Jan. 1, 2019.

The transportation minister’s plan is apparently in line with a recommendation by a researcher of the Institute of Transportation Studies, Deddy Herlambang, who suggested the stoppage of construction work from Dec. 21-26 and Dec. 31 to Jan. 1.

Based on Kompas observation, traffic jams occurred on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road on Wednesday. The reason was the narrowing of the road due to construction work and a high volume of vehicles, especially trucks.

Vehicles began to slow down at Km 8 in the direction of Cikampek on Wednesday afternoon. The most severe congestion was at the cross road section between the outer ring road and the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road at Km 8-10. Maximum speed there was 20 km per hour. Traffic started to ease at Km 13, but congestion occurred again until around Km 47, which is where the elevated toll road ends.(INA/ HRS/ ONG/ MHF/ E17/ E10/ARN/ E07/ E20)