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Jakarta returnees to hit 108,000 vehicles as holiday traffic peaks
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Hundreds of vehicles queue at the Cipali-Palimanan tollgate in Cirebon, West Java, on June 29, as people head back to Jakarta after celebrating Idul Fitri in their hometowns. The Idul Fitri return traffic is expected to peak today, (Antara/Dedhez Anggara)
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ith the Idul Fitri return traffic expected to peak on Friday, state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga estimates that around 108,000 vehicles will pass through the Cikarang Utama tollgate, heading toward Jakarta and its surrounding areas from cities in eastern Java.
Jasa Marga’s Jakarta-Cikampek spokesman Handoyono said travelers had been entering the Cikopo Palimanan (Cipali) toll road or taking other routes to Jakarta.
He added that Jasa Marga had permitted vehicles to travel for 12 kilometers in contraflow lanes on toll roads from Jakarta since Thursday to ease congestion.
Okky Brahma, a spokesperson for private toll road operator PT Lintas Marga Sedaya, echoed Jasa Marga's traffic assessment.
(Read also: Operator to make toll road free in the event of long queues)
The end of the operational restriction of freight trucks on Thursday had contributed to an increase in vehicle volume on the Cikopo-Palimanan and the Jakarta-Cikampek toll roads, Okky added.
He said a total of 30,236 vehicles had traveled on toll roads Thursday, 13 percent more than on Wednesday.
The police noted that the Brebes-Batang toll road has been packed with 6,956 vehicles since Thursday morning.
Although the toll roads were initially only open during the day, the police were considering opening them at night if the Batang section of the Pantura toll road became overcrowded, said Adj. Sr. Comr. Luthfie Sulistiawan of the Brebes Police.
“We will coordinate with the Batang Police,” he said, as reported by tempo.co. (fss/bbn)
