Major delays as highway closed<\/p>\n
Oyos Saroso HN, The Jakarta Post, Bandar Lampung, Lampung<\/p>\n
The highway connecting Lampung and neighboring provinces in
\nSumatra was closed on Wednesday for renovations that will last 10
\ndays, as a section of the main road has been damaged following
\ndays of heavy rain.<\/p>\n
The closure has forced the local transportation authorities to
\nreroute vehicles traversing the Sumatran highway to or from
\nLampung's Bakauheni ferry port.<\/p>\n
The vehicles now have to take one of three alternative routes:
\nFirst, via Simpang Babatan, Pasar Tanjungan and Pasar Umbulkates
\nto Bakauheni; second, via Umbulbayur, Tanjung Bintang and Jl.
\nSoekarno Hatta to Bandar Lampung; third, via Labuhan Maringgai
\n(East Lampung Timur), Sukadana, Kotagajah and Gunung Sugih to
\nBandar Lampung.<\/p>\n
The closure was made after a water channel, under a section of
\nthe road in the hamlet of Umbul Kidul in Pardasuka village, South
\nLampung, were badly damaged after being hit by floodwaters.<\/p>\n
The water channels, some 24 kilometers from Bakauheni, were
\nswept away by floodwaters triggered by days of heavy rain.<\/p>\n
There are at least 20 water channels along the 90-kilometer
\nroad between Bakauheni and the provincial capital, Bandar
\nLampung. They were all in poor physical condition due to a lack
\nof maintenance by the local public works office.<\/p>\n
However, the three alternative routes cannot be used by large
\ntrucks loaded with more than 20 tons of cargo, because there are
\nseveral emergency bridges that they cannot use.<\/p>\n
Large trucks have been advised to reduce their loads in order
\nto be able to use the three alternative routes.<\/p>\n
This has forced drivers to park large trucks at emergency
\nparking lots along the Bandar Lampung to Bakauheni route.<\/p>\n
To solve the problem, the local administration opened on
\nWednesday Panjang container port, the largest in Sumatra, for
\nlarge trucks that were heading for the ferry to Merak port,
\nSerang, Banten.<\/p>\n
"If we cross via Panjang, there is a 100 percent increase in
\ntransportation costs because the distance between the port and
\nMerak is farther than that between Bakauheni and Merak,"
\ncomplained Warsit, 37, the driver of a truck carrying bananas
\nfrom Lampung to the main Pasar Induk market in Kramatjati, East
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Sulton, 32, another truck driver, said he had to pay Rp 1
\nmillion (US$117) in ferry fares from Panjang to Merak, a distance
\nof about 54 miles. "Meanwhile, to cross via Bakauheni, it costs
\nonly Rp 350,000."<\/p>\n
He acknowledged he had to cover the increase in transportation
\ncost, otherwise he would not be able to return to Jakarta.<\/p>\n
A similar grievance was expressed by another driver, Rosidi,
\n40, who said he had to pay Rp 950,000 to take his truck to Merak
\nfrom Panjang. Normally, he paid only Rp 250,000 to cross via
\nBakauheni.<\/p>\n
Deputy head of Lampung transportation office Haryo Setmiko
\nsaid truck drivers were charged Rp 950,000 to Rp 1.5 million per
\ntruckload from Panjang to Merak.<\/p>\n
"The charge is usual because the distance between Panjang and
\nMerak is greater -- 54 miles -- while Bakauheni to Merak is only
\n15 miles," he argued.<\/p>\n
Normally, it takes two to three hours for a passenger ferry to
\nsail from Bakauheni to Merak, and seven to nine hours via
\nPanjang.<\/p>\n
Setmiko said his office had coordinated with PT ASDP, the
\noperator of Bakauheni port, to open Panjang for large trucks.<\/p>\n
"Starting Wednesday, two ferries will operate to serve the
\nPanjang to Merak route. The two -- the Duta Banten and Mitra
\nNusantara -- are being provided to carry trucks up to 15 tons
\nfully loaded," he said.<\/p>\n
However it was around 2:30 p.m. before the two ferries arrived
\nat Panjang, where some 1,000 trucks had been waiting for hours to
\nmake the crossing.<\/p>\n
Setmiko advised public buses and private vehicles to continue
\nto cross via Bakauheni port.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/major-delays-as-highway-closed-1447893297",
"image": ""
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