Damaged road angers residents
Damaged road angers residents
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
The main road linking Kuta Bumi, Pasar Kemis and Tangerang
town is in a serious state of disrepair, causing a host of
problems for drivers and residents as it prolongs their journey
times and threatens their health.
"I cannot remember exactly how long this road has been
damaged. But I know for a fact that Tangerang regency hasn't
repaired it for the last two years," Bambang S., a 35-year-old
father of three, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
Bambang said that the four-kilometer road was in poor repair
even before the floods earlier this year. But the floods had left
it virtually impassable.
"When will this road be repaired? It's been too long now that
we've been unable to travel to and from this area in some
semblance of comfort. Vehicles have to crawl along and swerve in
and out of the potholes," a middle-aged lady complained while
traveling on a public minivan serving the route.
"A trip along the entire four-kilometer length of the road can
take up to half an hour."
She said that her husband now had to spend one hour everyday
just waiting for public minivans as the number willing to serve
the route had dropped markedly.
Many route R-15A public minivan drivers plying
the Kuta Bumi-Cimone run are now reluctant to go as far as the
end of the route.
"The state of the road means that we are wasting time, and
therefore also losing fares and increasing our operating costs,"
Embar, a driver, said, adding that the road's condition meant
that they used more fuel and had to buy spareparts more often.
"As you see, there's no end to the potholes along the road.
There's no asphalt left either, just gravel, sand and dust. As
vehicles pass by, the dust flies up into the air and the people
around breath it in," Bambang told the Post.
He said that the damaged road had forced his pregnant wife to
stay at home as she feared for the health of her baby due to the
dust.
Mailani, 32, who runs a CD rental store in the Villa Tangerang
Regency II residential complex along the road said that if the
road was not repaired and the dust problem solved, everyone,
especially children, living there would face health problems,
especially respiratory diseases.