BPJN Halts Road Works on Anai Valley to Ensure Safe Lebaran Travel

Padang Panjang — The National Road Implementation Agency (BPJN) of West Sumatra has temporarily suspended repairs to the damaged Anai Valley road, which was devastated by flash flooding in late November 2025, in order to support the smooth flow of Lebaran 2026 return traffic.

Observations by the national news agency on Sunday along the Anai Valley road section revealed heavy equipment parked along the roadside, including crawler excavators, standard excavators, bulldozers, and cranes.

The Anai Valley road section, specifically the Sicincin-Padang Panjang route at KM 64, had previously been open only on a limited basis, permitting both two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles to pass between 17:00 WIB and 08:00 WIB.

However, to support the smooth flow of return traffic, the route will now remain open 24 hours for four-wheeled vehicles during the Lebaran holiday period, from 10 days before until 10 days after Eid al-Fitr.

Bripka Afriandi, the community policing officer for Batipuh Police Station, stated during a meeting at the 2026 Lebaran Security Post in Padang Panjang that the decision had been jointly agreed upon by BPJN and the local regional police headquarters.

“Yes, it has been halted because it is closely related to ensuring the safety of our returning travellers, our relatives who wish to go home. That is why it has been suspended for safety reasons,” said Bripka Afriandi.

Bripka Afriandi noted that a significant surge in vehicle volume had not yet been observed six days before Lebaran, since most travellers returning to West Sumatra do not arrive at the same time.

“There has been no vehicle surge yet; it is not yet significant because we are only six days out. Typically, our families and relatives living away do not all return to West Sumatra at once,” he explained.

Police predict that a notable surge, particularly among travellers heading into West Sumatra, will occur between three and one day before Eid al-Fitr, and then again one to five days after the holiday, when diaspora members undertake sightseeing trips throughout West Sumatra.

The Public Works Ministry is implementing an urgent disaster relief project addressing the flash flooding and landslides along the Padang Panjang-Sicincin section (KM 61-67). The project commenced on 28 November 2025 and is targeted for completion in July 2026, with a total of 874 bore pile points.