Marunda–Rorotan Road Polluted with Red Soil, Truck Operations Now Restricted
JAKARTA - The North Jakarta City Government, through its Transportation Sub-Department, has restricted the operating hours of trucks transporting soil along the Sarang Bango Road in Marunda to Malaka Road in Rorotan.
This policy was implemented following complaints from residents about the road conditions, which are frequently covered in red soil, making them slippery and dangerous for drivers.
Head of the North Jakarta Transportation Sub-Department, Rudy Saptari, stated that the restrictions resulted from a coordination meeting held on Tuesday (31/3/2026) involving various parties.
In the meeting, it was agreed that soil-transporting trucks would not be allowed to operate from 08:00 to 16:30 WIB.
In addition to the operating hour restrictions, project implementers have been asked to take responsibility for ensuring that vehicles entering and leaving the site do not dirty the road. Rudy explained that the truck activities are related to a land preparation project.
“Information on land preparation for synthetic grass drying activities,” he said.
Previously, residents complained about the condition of the Sarang Bango Road to Malaka Road segment, which was covered in red soil. This condition made the road slippery, particularly during rain, and increased the risk of accidents.
Jamal (45), a parking attendant in the area, said the landfilling project activities have been ongoing since Ramadan.
“That’s over there (Malaka Road) there’s landfilling. It’s been going on for a while, I think since Ramadan. They stopped just before Eid but started again,” he explained when met by Kompas.com at the location on Tuesday (31/3/2026).
“The dirtiness started after Eid, though. Last Sunday was the dirtiest, with those trucks passing frequently,” he added.
Another resident, Sofyan (40), also attributed the dirty road conditions to soil spilling from project vehicles.
“Yes, this is because the soil spills from the project trucks. I’m not sure what the project is, but you can see the remnants over there,” he said.
Sofyan added that residents had protested on Sunday afternoon because the road conditions were worsening. Officials cleaned the road, but it became dirty again by evening.
“On Sunday afternoon, the residents protested because it was getting messier. Then officials came to clean it right away. But by evening it was messy again until morning,” he said.
“I think there were about three motorbikes that fell. Because after rain it gets even more slippery,” he added.