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span class="caption" style="width: 378px;">JP/P.J. LeoThe Jakarta Transportation Agency will close the southern part of Jalan Satrio (Casablanca) near the Mega Kuningan business area starting on Wednesday to facilitate construction of the Kampung Melayu-Tanah Abang elevated road. The closure will reportedly last for one month.

Jakarta Transportation Agency deputy head Riza Hasim said on Monday that the road block would begin from the intersection at Jl. Denpasar Raya to the intersection at Jl. Mega Kuningan. The closure is being implemented to facilitate the installation of pile caps.

Riza said that the agency had prepared three alternate routes for motorists who normally ride from Jl. Rasuna Said to Jl. Prof. Dr. Satrio.

“We have informed the media of the new alternate routes. We hope that the information is effectively delivered to motorists,” he said.

The first alternate route is using Jl. Denpasar Selatan. “Motorists from Jl. Rasuna Said should enter Jl. Denpasar Selatan and then turn right on Jl. Denpasar Raya. Motorists should then turn left, approaching the Mega Kuningan area,” Riza said.

The other alternate routes are entering Jl. Besakih and Jl. Gilimanuk, also on the left side of Jl. Rasuna Said. “The other two alternate routes are also heading to the Mega Kuningan area,” he said.

Riza said that the closure could snarl traffic around Casablanca. Riza also said that there could be financial losses for people running their businesses in the area. “I know the closure, even though it is temporary, will bring inconvenience for us. But I do expect motorists and the business community to support these efforts,” he said.

He said that the agency had received a substantial amount of criticism over the previous closure of the Jl. Satrio section in April last year.

The three-month closure had resulted in a severe blow to businesses in the area, with business owners complaining about lost revenue.

They also complained about a drop in the number of customers frequenting the area.

During the closure, the city administration constructed 98 bored pile structures. A bored pile is a reinforced concrete pillar cast-in-place that will support the upper vertical structure of the elevated road.

The elevated road will connect Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Tanah Abang in Central
Jakarta.

The Kampung Melayu-Tanah Abang road will add a 2.3-kilometer-long strip to the section above Jl. Casablanca and
Jl. Dr. Satrio in South Jakarta and Jl. K.H. Mas Mansyur in Central Jakarta.

A special section of the elevated road above the Casablanca underpass, connecting Jl. Casablanca and Jl. Dr. Satrio, will be raised to 20 meters to provide space for the planned monorail project through Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said.

The Public Works Agency previously claimed that construction of the elevated roads in Jakarta had proceeded ahead of schedule. The roads, the agency said, are expected to be operational next year.

The agency is working on two raised roads in the city. The other will connect Jl. Pangeran Antasari and Blok M in South Jakarta.

As of late December, progress on the Kampung Melayu-Tanah Abang section it 46.3 percent complete, ahead of the targeted 41.3 percent. (lfr)