T

he old adage puts safety first, but Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo seems to think it can wait, as in the case of damaged roads.

The rainy season has traditionally been a time when motorists, and in particular motorcyclists, are warned to drive more carefully to avoid rainwater-deluged potholes.

But on Tuesday, Fauzi said his administration would not rush to repair them, adding it could wait until the advent of the dry season.

"We'll repair the damaged roads; we have the money for it," he said.

"However, we won't do it right away."

He said his administration had made its own assessments of the road conditions as well as traffic load for each road.

Fauzi also said should the administration insist on repairing the damaged roads during the rainy season, the work would be in vain.

Heavy rains coupled with increased loading only serve to hasten the damage, the governor pointed out.

However, Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI) director Tulus Abadi disagreed.

"The administration can be penalized *if it fails to promptly repair damaged roads*," he said as quoted by beritajakarta.com.

Tulus cited Article 273 of the 2009 Traffic Law, which stipulates five-year prison sentences or Rp 120 million fines for the responsible officials or institutions who fail to repair damaged roads.

Voicing similar concern, city councillor Nurmansjah Lubis said Jakarta residents could sue the administration over the poor roads.

"Filing a lawsuit is an important move as the damaged roads can lead to fatal accidents, especially to motorcyclists," Nurmansjah said.

Data from the Jakarta Police's Traffic Management Center shows 20 people were killed in traffic accidents in the first three months of this year.

The TMC also notes at least 17 areas with damaged roads, including at the Jl. H. Nawi intersection near ITC Fatmawati, at the Senayan shooting range intersection in Central Jakarta, and on Jl. Simpruk Raya in West Jakarta.

Institute of Transportation Studies (Instran) director Darmaningtyas attributed the damaged roads to poor construction coupled with bad planning.

"The roads are easily damaged because they were poorly built," he pointed out.

"For instance, on a scale of one to 100 - where 100 means ideal materials mixing, asphalting and funding, what we have here is less than 50.

"*The contractors* often scale down the initial construction plan. So it's obvious why the results are far from satisfactory," Darmaningtyas added.

He said poor timing in carrying out the road repairs also played a part in the quality of the roads.

"Water is the main element in the asphalt," he said.

"But what we have here are constructors who mostly carry out the repairs during the rainy season."

The best time for road repairs in Jakarta is from May to October, during the dry season, he added.

To support a successful road renovation, Darmaningtyas said, the responsible agencies (including the public works agency) must reform its construction management.

Agency head Budi Widiantoro previously said the city had allocated a Rp 40 million budget for road maintenance for the first half of 2009, and another Rp 37 million for the second half.

"With this budget, we plan to revamp all the damaged roads this year," he said.