Road construction to worsen Jakarta’s traffic

Jakarta’s Traffic Police and Public Works Agency say that the city’s already horrendous traffic will worsen when construction begins on two elevated roads in the coming months.

The elevated roads will connect Jl. Pangeran Antasari and Blok M in South Jakarta and Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta when completed in 2012.

Jakarta Public Works Agency head Ery Basworo said the construction would foul traffic in nearby areas until at least September.

“Heavy machinery will take up several lanes of traffic when workers start erecting the pillars for the elevated roads,” he said Thursday.

Ery said construction would take place between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. to mitigate traffic disruptions.

The Antasari-Blok M road will be 4.8 kilometers long and straddle several streets in South Jakarta, including Jl. Pangeran Antasari, Jl. Prapanca Raya, Jl. Sultan Iskandarsyah and Jl. Sultan Hasannudin. The Kampung Melayu-Tanah Abang road will add a 2.3-kilometer strip to the section above Jl. Casablanca and Jl. Dr. Satrio in South Jakarta and to Jl. K.H. Mas Mansyur in Central Jakarta.Special 20-meter high sections of the elevated road will be built in two places: the Casablanca underpass that connects Jl. Casablanca and Jl. Dr. Satrio and the Sudirman overpass that connects Jl. Dr. Satrio in South Jakarta and Jl. K.H. Mas Mansyur.

The higher spans will accommodate Jakarta’s planned monorail along Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said and planned mass rapid transit (MRT) project on Jl. Sudirman.

The city will spend an estimated Rp 2.2 trillion (US$246.4 million) over several years on the project.According to the Jakarta Police Traffic Management Center (TMC), the construction would worsen congestion on the affected roads.

“Even before construction work has begun, traffic has been very bad on those roads,” TMC representative Second Brig. Seno Adi told The Jakarta Post.

The city and the police have established alternate routes around the construction sites.

Traffic along the Antasari-Blok M route will be directed to Jl. Fatmawati Raya, Jl Bangka, Jl. Kemang Raya, Jl. Puri Mutiara, Jl. H. Junaidi and Jl. Damai, while Kampung Melayu-Tanah Abang traffic will be diverted to Jl. Sultan Agung, Jl. Galunggung, Jl. Rasuna Said and Jl. MT Haryono.

According to the police, traffic congestion has worsened along Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta and Jl. S. Parman in West Jakarta, after TransJakarta launched two new routes in December.

TransJakarta buses use dedicated lanes that reduce the space available for private vehicles and motorcycles.

Separately, Public Works Agency bridge division head Novizal said Thursday that the Antasari-Blok M road would be built with extra capacity to serve as an alternative route during the MRT’s construction.Work on the first stage of the 15.2-kilometer MRT project linking Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle Central Jakarta is expected to start in 2011 and finish in 2016.

Currently, Jakarta is home to 3.1 million cars and a staggering 8.2 million motorcycles with 500 cars and 1,500 motorcycles in streets every day.

JP/Irma