T

he Jakarta Police traffic unit will block several main roads in the city and divert traffic Saturday and Sunday to make way for the entourages of state leaders attending the 18th ASEAN Summit.

The Jakarta Police website said road blocks and traffic diversions would begin Saturday, when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to welcome heads of state in the morning at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) in Senayan, South Jakarta.

“The President will receive state leaders at the JCC, each arriving two minutes after the other,” traffic division chief Sr. Comr. Royke Lumowa said Friday.

Police will block traffic along thoroughfares from the summit venue to the hotels where the heads of state will stay during the two-day event.

The state guests will stay in eight different hotels and will leave their hotels at 7:30 a.m., Royke said. Road blocks will start at the same time.

Jl. Jend. Sudirman is one of the main routes that will be closed to motorists at certain times on Saturday and Sunday as many of the hotels are located close by. Road blocks will begin at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle heading to the Semanggi cloverleaf and continuing to the JCC.

Motorists will also be barred from entering Jl. Jend. Sudirman from Dukuh Atas, where the Shangri-La Hotel is located.

Those wishing to travel through Kuningan are being advised to seek alternative routes as two of the main roads in the area will be blocked.

Road blocks will be in place from the Four Seasons Hotel on Jl. Rasuna Said heading to Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto and Semanggi and continue to the JCC. The same route will be used by heads of state staying at the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels.

Royke said roads would reopen to motorists once the heads of state and their entourages had arrived at the JCC. He warned there would be more road blocks later in the day.

The same routes will be blocked starting 4 p.m. when guests leave the JCC and return to their hotels.

“Road blocks will begin again at 6.30 p.m. when heads of state return to the JCC to attend a banquet, then later at night when they reurn to their hotels again,” Royke told The Jakarta Post.

The dinner is expected to end at 9.30 p.m.

Royke said Jakarta Police also block roads on Sunday, “but the blocks won’t be as extensive as Saturday,” he added.

The road blocks are scheduled to last for 35 to 40 minutes, he said, “therefore we will not only block roads, but we’ll also divert traffic. If we don’t, traffic will be backed up,” he told the Post.

Police will divert traffic at 11 key spots, including the Harmoni intersection — with drivers diverted to Jl. Ir H Juanda heading to Jl. Gunung Sahari — and the Merdeka Selatan intersection where the Kuda Kencana statue is located.

Traffic on Jl. Merdeka Selatan will be diverted to Jl. Merdeka Timur heading to Jl. Prapatan. Motorists can head to the Senen crossing or the Tugu Tani intersection and continue to Jl. Cut Mutia and to Jl. Cokroaminoto to reach Kuningan.