Java's north coast highway hit by 8-kilometer tailback
Java's north coast highway hit by 8-kilometer tailback
Nana Rukmana and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post,
Cirebon/Bandung
A tank full of cement that rolled of a truck traveling along
Java's north coast highway caused a nine-hour traffic jam on the
stretch of the highway between the West Java regency of Cirebon
and the Central Java regency of Brebes.
The accident occurred on Tuesday on a street in the Cirebon
subdistrict of Panggang, some 2 kilometers west of Cisanggarung
bridge, which connects West Java and Central Java provinces.
The accident should serve as a wake-up call for local
governments to improve their preparations for managing traffic
congestion on the highway, one of the main roads on Java island
and an essential route for Idul Fitri holiday travelers.
Popon, a local resident, said that the accident began on
Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m, when a truck belonging to cement
maker PT Semen Gresik suddenly stalled on Jl. Panggang. The
truck, which was heading west to Jakarta, was carrying a tank
containing liquid cement, he said.
"Another truck came several hours later to replace the stalled
truck.
A number of people, with the help of a mobile crane, started
to set about transfering the tank containing liquid cement from
the stalled truck and move it onto the replacement truck," the
50-year-old resident said early on Wednesday morning.
But, after the tank had been lifted of the stalled truck, the
crane was unable to hold it and the tank crashed down onto the
street, he said.
The accident caused an 8-kilometer tailback from Gebang market
in Cirebon regency to Tanjung market in Brebes regency.
The cause of the hold-up was only removed at 12.15 a.m on
Wednesday after another mobile crane was dispatched to the scene.
With the help of the two trailer cranes, the tank was placed
on the second truck, allowing it to finally proceed on its way to
Jakarta.
Traffic along the Cirebon and Brebes regency street finally
resumed to normal on early on Wednesday morning, said Cirebon
Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Musyafak.
No fatalities were reported in the incident.
Separately on Wednesday, a bus crashed into a Toyota Hardtop
jeep on Rajamandala street in Bandung mayoralty, leaving the jeep
driver, Yahya, 40, badly injured.
Besides crashing into the jeep, the Hiba Utama bus also
smashed into a house on the side of the street.
The chief of the Bandung Police's traffic section, Adj. Comr.
Sadiman, said that the chain of events commenced at 2 p.m, when
heavy rain was falling in the Rajamandala area.
The bus, which was traveling west to Sukabumi from Bandung,
was overtaking on a bend when it collided with the Toyota
Hardtop, which was traveling in the opposite direction.