New flyovers to ease Tanah Abang traffic

JAKARTA (JP): Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, one of the city's most congested areas will be free of traffic jams in June when the construction of an underpass and three flyovers is completed, the head of the city public works agency said yesterday.

The official, Soeharto, said the underpass and flyovers would be opened on June 22, the city's 470th anniversary. The roads were part of city's 1992 to 1997 masterplan.

"With the inauguration of the flyovers and the underpass, the Tanah Abang area will be free from congestion," Soeharto said after a city executives meeting.

Furthermore, the flyovers would allow motorists to avoid driving through highly congested streets during the wet season, he said.

The four-lane 525-meter underpass is on Jl. Fachruddin.

The three flyovers are on Jl. K.S. Tubun, Jl. K.H. Mas Mansyur, and Jl. Cideng. The flyovers are between 450 meters and 600 meters long and between 16 meters and 17 meters wide.

"Several traffic problems in Tanah Abang, caused mainly by the sidewalk vendors who take up spaces on the street, can be eliminated," Soeharto said.

However, the effort to improve traffic in the area should be followed by operations to curb sidewalk vendors, he said.

Public works agency data shows the underpass and flyovers are among 25 flyovers and underpass projects in the city's 1992-1997 master plan.

Of the 25 flyovers and underpass projects, 19 have been completed. All projects, which the Ministry of Public Works and the city administration financed, are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said in his recent end-of-year evaluation that he could not predict when the city would be free from traffic problems.

He blamed the slow construction of new roads, which could not match the speed at which the number of vehicles increased, as the main reason for the city's unsolvable traffic problems.

The latest figures show vehicles have increased by 14 percent annually while the length of the roads only increased by 4 percent.

The city is now home to nine million people with 2,165,200 vehicles. Jakarta has 5,907.95 kilometers of road. (02/ste)