T

he Jakarta administration has earmarked Rp 1.8 trillion (US$129.9 million) to develop five overpasses and four underpasses this year on roads and rail crossings prone to congestion.

Bina Marga agency'€™s overpass and intersection division head Heru Suwondo said that all nine projects were slated for completion in 2017 with a multi-year contract.

'€œThis year we will begin the development of overpasses and underpasses, set be completed and available for use next year,'€ Heru told The Jakarta Post over the phone at City Hall on Tuesday.

Heru explained that of the five planned overpasses, three would be built over rail crossings at Bintaro in South Jakarta, Jl. Panjang in West Jakarta and Jl. Cipinang Lontar in East Jakarta. Those rail crossings were among the busiest in the city and were prone to traffic accidents, he said.

A fatal railroad accident at the Bintaro crossing late in 2013 caused the death of at least five people and 91 injured. More recently, a bus operated by city-owned PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) crashed into an electric train at the rail crossing on Jl. Panjang. Though leaving no victims, the accident highlighted the importance of securing rail crossings.

The remaining overpasses will be constructed at Jembatan Tiga in North Jakarta and Pancoran in South Jakarta. Heru said that the design for the planned overpass at Jembatan Tiga was still being planned, while the overpass at Pancoran would be built one-way for drivers traveling from Cawang in East Jakarta to Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta.

The underpasses will be built at South Jakarta'€™s Jl. RA Kartini for motorists traveling from Pondok Indah to Lebak Bulus, at Kebayoran Baru for motorists traveling from Jl. Kapten Tendean to Jl. Wolter Monginsidi, Kuningan for motorists traveling from Kuningan to Jl. Mampang Prapatan and Pramuka in East Jakarta for motorists traveling from Jl. Pramuka to Salemba in Central Jakarta.

'€œCurrently we are processing all documents at the BPPBJ [Jakarta Goods and Services Procurement Agency] in order to begin a bidding process to find the projects'€™ contractors, except for the Jembatan Tiga overpass, the design of which design is being finalized,'€ Heru said.

Separately, BPPBJ head Blessmiyanda said that his agency was in the final stage of evaluating Bina Marga Agency'€™s documents.

'€œHopefully bidding can begin next week,'€ Bless said via a text message on Tuesday. He went on to say that the BPPBJ would speed up the bidding process so that the agency could quickly commence construction and have the projects completed on schedule. Normally, the bidding process can take up to 75 days.