Lenteng Agung Road Collapse Causes Traffic Congestion, Zipper Merge Method Proposed as Solution

JAKARTA - Long traffic jams occurred on Lenteng Agung Road in South Jakarta heading towards Depok on Friday morning, 29 May 2026. The congestion was caused by a section of the road collapsing on Thursday evening, 28 May 2026.

Vehicle queues stretched as far as the Lenteng Agung Tapal Kuda Flyover due to the incident. The road collapse resulted in a lane bottleneck, reducing the usual three to four lanes to just one alternating lane.

However, traffic could worsen significantly due to driver behaviour at the bottleneck point.

‘Any reduction from three or five lanes to two or three will inevitably cause a bottleneck,’ said Jusri when contacted by Kompas.com on Friday, 29 May 2026.

Jusri added that chaos at the narrowing point often arises from drivers’ reluctance to yield.

He stated that the severe congestion in Lenteng Agung could be alleviated if drivers understood the zipper merge method, which involves alternating between right and left lanes.

‘Yes, zipper. So right-left, right-left. For example, the right lane goes first, then stops for the next one. Then the left lane proceeds, alternating. Here, they don’t understand this zipper method,’ Jusri explained.

With only one lane now available, disciplined use of the zipper merge method is crucial to prevent total traffic blockage between Jakarta and Depok.