President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has inaugurated the Jakarta-Cikampek II toll road, expressing hope that the country’s longest elevated toll road will reduce congestion on one of the busiest routes in the archipelago.

With the inauguration, people traveling from the capital to cities in Java and vice versa can soon use the new toll road — running above the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, which is one of the most popular roads for those traveling out of town on weekends and in holiday seasons.

“I have received complaints that it used to take hours to travel between Jakarta and Cikampek,” Jokowi said during the inauguration ceremony in Cikampek, West Java, on Thursday. 

“We hope we will not hear such complaints anymore now that [work on] the elevated Jakarta-Cikampek II has concluded,” he went on to say, adding that he expected the new road to reduce congestion by 30 percent.

Jokowi also took the opportunity to express praise for the smooth construction process, considering there were many projects near the elevated road, such as the Greater Jakarta LRT and the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway.

State-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga had set aside Rp 16.23 trillion (US$1.15 billion) for the construction of the 36.4-kilometer elevated road, which began in July 2017. 

The elevated toll road, which is designed to be for private vehicles only, is expected to reduce the burden on the existing Jakarta-Cikampek toll road in the upcoming holiday season from Christmas to New Year.

Holiday travelers who want to use the elevated toll road will not be charged, as Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono explained the toll roads would be free for the end-of-year holiday season. (mrc)