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.