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New toll road draws ire from regular road users
Hellish: A motorcyclist avoids traffic congestion along Jl
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span class="caption">Hellish: A motorcyclist avoids traffic congestion along Jl. Ciledug Raya in South Jakarta during rush hour by riding in the opposite lane. Traffic on the street has only worsened since the opening of the new toll road connecting Ulujami and Ciledug, with the toll road going toward Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama
Motorists and residents have complained that the newly completed Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR) W2 North toll road has caused severe traffic congestion on Jl. Ciledug Raya ' one of the main roads connecting Jakarta and Banten ' especially during rush hour.
The toll road, for which construction began in 2011 and was completed in July this year, is the last section of the JORR W2 North toll road, connecting Ciledug and Ulujami in southwest Jakarta to provide greater access to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.
The JORR connects several toll roads in Greater Jakarta, namely the Jakarta-Cikampek, Jagorawi, Jakarta-Tangerang and Sedyatmo toll roads. Residents from Bekasi and Bogor can now travel directly to the airport, without taking the Jakarta inner-city toll road.
Although the toll road is beneficial for many people, motorists and commuters traveling along Jl. Ciledug Raya, which serves as one of the exit and entry points for the JORR W2 North toll road, have experienced its negative effects.
While hundreds of vehicles exit and enter the toll road from Jl. Ciledug Raya, many Bianglala buses, Kopaja and Metro Mini minibuses and private vehicles also use the road to travel to and from various places in Banten.
The road is also an access point for motorists from Banten traveling to Jakarta's main protocols, which are the centers of Jakarta's office activities.
One motorcyclist, 26-year-old Retno Astrini, said that traffic congestion had worsened since the toll road started operating.
'Before the toll road was completed, Jl. Ciledug Raya was already crowded. But now it has gotten worse. There are times when the traffic just stands still,' Retno said.
She said that she usually drove her motorcycle from her boarding house in Ciledug to her office on Jl. Sudirman in South Jakarta.
'The road is especially crowded during rush hour. Sometimes I choose to go home late to avoid the traffic congestion,' Retno said.
Forty five-year-old Metro Mini bus driver Yanus echoed Retno, adding that the city administration should take action. Yanus drives Metro Mini number 69, which travels around 12 kilometers from Blok M in South Jakarta to Ciledug in Tangerang.
'The traffic congestion is severe. It should only take 45 minutes to get from Blok M to Ciledug, but now it could take up to two to three hours with traffic congestion,' Yanus said.
He added that morning traffic jams lasted from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m., while afternoon traffic jams started from 5 p.m. and continued until as late as 10 p.m.
'The city administration should do something about the traffic congestion here. The toll road was made to ease access to the airport, but what about the road beneath the toll road?' he asked.
Yanus suggested that the city administration widen the road, which is currently around four lanes wide.
Meanwhile, traffic police officer First Brig. Bambang said there were many factors that contributed to traffic jams on Jl. Ciledug Raya.
'Jl. Ciledug Raya connects many neighborhoods in Banten to Jl. Jendral Sudirman, where many offices are located. Moreover, there is the Cipulir textile market and ITC Cipulir Mas [shopping center] along Jl. Ciledug Raya,' Bambang said.
'Now that the JORR W2 toll road has started operating, many people from Bekasi and Bogor also use the toll road as an alternative to travel to Kebayoran Baru, Kebayoran Lama and Jl. Sudirman,' he said.
Moreover, Bambang said, the narrow road, which is only about 10 meters wide, was too small to function as a four-lane road.
Critics have said that instead of easing the traffic, toll roads sometimes cause congestion, especially if exits and entrances are too close to each other or if the roads that serve as the exit points are not designed to accommodate increased traffic.
The Public Works Ministry, in cooperation with the Jakarta administration and a private consortium, is planning to build six new toll roads within Jakarta, which has drawn harsh criticism from urban planning and transportation experts who say that more toll roads would not help ease congestion in the city.
