Agency denies road scheme has begun

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta Parks Agency head Sarwo Handhayani denied on Tuesday that a Rp 15 billion (US$1.8 million) project to widen the road and sidewalks along Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, has already started.

"It was only a routine check on cable installation along the two roads. It has nothing to do with the project," she said.

However, The Jakarta Post observed excavations on Tuesday along the roads. One-meter-deep holes measuring 140 centimeters (cm) by 30 cm were visible every 20 meters along the median strip of Jl. Sudirman. Concrete blocks on some parts of the sidewalks on Jl. Thamrin had also been removed.

Sarwo said her agency was still discussing with the city public works agency the plan to scrap the median strip separating the fast and slow lanes to increase the usable width of the road.

Public works agency head Fodly Misbach could not be reached for comment.

Fodly said earlier that both agencies would jointly redesign the thoroughfares by widening the roads and sidewalks. The project would include the scrapping of some parts of the median strip along Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman to recover the road width occupied by the busway, which was launched on Jan. 15.

Currently, the fast lanes comprise two lanes for vehicles plus the dedicated busway lane.

The width of each lane will be reduced from three meters to 2.75 meters, while the width of the median strip between the fast and slow lanes will be reduced by 1.5 meters on either side.