New busway lanes to be better constructed
New busway lanes to be better constructed
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta administration has promised the new busway corridors
connecting the Pulogadung bus terminal in East Jakarta to
Kalideres, West Jakarta, via the National Monument, will be
better constructed to allow them to stand up to the wear and tear
inflicted on them by the buses.
"We need stronger roads at the shelters and intersections to
withstand the repeated decelerating, stopping and accelerating of
the buses," City Public Works Agency deputy head Wishnu Subagyo
said recently.
Sections of road along the original busway corridor running
the 12.9 kilometers from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West
Jakarta have begun to show signs of stress, particularly in front
of the busway shelters and at intersections.
The first corridor, which was opened on Jan. 15, was
constructed simply by taking over the fast lane along the major
thoroughfares of Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin. This lane was
originally designed for private vehicles only, as buses and
trucks were restricted to the slow lanes of these thoroughfares.
To repair the damaged sections of road along the busway, the
administration must allocate funds from its annual budget.
Wishnu said the administration had spent Rp 4 billion
(US$431,360) on busway road repairs as of July this year.
"We have allocated Rp 2 billion more than called for in the
2004 revised city budget in order to continue the maintenance
work on the lane until the end of this year," he said.
The assistant to the city secretary for development affairs,
IGKG Suena, said more agencies -- the public works,
transportation and parks agencies -- would be involved in the new
busway corridors, including their financing.
The administration has estimated the infrastructure for the
new corridors will cost up to Rp 600 billion, excluding the
procurement of buses, which will be purchased by private
companies.
The transportation agency will spend Rp 369 billion on the
construction of bus shelters and pedestrian bridges, while the
public works agency will spend about Rp 200 billion acquiring
land and constructing the exclusive busway lane.
The new busway route will consist of two corridors: a 14.5-
kilometer corridor from Pulogadung to Monas, and a 9.1-kilometer
corridor from Monas to Kalideres. The corridors are expected to
open next year.
The administration will also proceed with plans to construct a
corridor from Pulogadung to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in
2006, and from Kampung Rambutan, East Jakarta, to Tanjung Priok,
North Jakarta, in 2007.