Flooding Paralysises Traffic on Outer Ring Road Cengkareng
Flooding that continued to inundate Outer Ring Road Cengkareng brought a Petrol Filling Station (SPBU) and traffic in the area to a standstill through Monday afternoon (9 March).
The floodwaters submerged the area along the Duri Kosambi intersection through to the U-turn area beneath the Taman Semanan Indah flyover. As a result, motorists could only pass through the two rightmost lanes, with inevitable congestion developing along the entire stretch.
Along the edge of the flood waters, motorcyclists stopped and hesitated before attempting to cross the floodwaters, fearing their bikes would stall during passage. Some attempted the crossing regardless, with several ending up stalled as water entered their engines.
A Pertamina petrol station on the roadside remained non-operational, similarly submerged by the floodwaters. Its black gate was firmly closed, secured with locks and chains at the front. The flooding also inundated the U-turn area towards Kembangan beneath the Taman Semanan Indah flyover.
Rizal, a local trader in the area, reported that the floodwaters had inundated this stretch of Jakarta’s Outer Ring Road since Sunday (8 March). “Yesterday it reached half a metre (50 centimetres), all the motorcycles stalled passing through here. Now, thank goodness, it’s starting to subside, it’s becoming passable,” Rizal said at the location on Monday.
He explained that the flooding on Outer Ring Road occurred due to overflow from a canal and water retention facility located beneath the toll road. Heavy rainfall with high intensity caused the water discharge in the retention area to exceed capacity, resulting in overflow onto the road. Consequently, severe congestion became inevitable, disrupting business activities in the surrounding area, including Rizal’s food stall.
“It’s been quiet since yesterday, people have difficulty buying things because of the flooding,” said Rizal.
Rizal hopes the government will promptly improve the drainage system to address the flooding that has increasingly inundated West Jakarta over the past few days.