Rest Area Km 43 Jakarta-Merak Toll Road Begins to See Increased Traveller Traffic
The rest area at Km 43 on the Jakarta-Merak toll road in Jayanti, Tangerang Regency, Banten, has begun to see increased traffic from holiday travellers during the Lebaran holiday exodus. This toll road leads to the ferry port with destinations to Sumatra Island.
According to Antara news agency on Sunday (15 March 2026), from monitoring that commenced at 12:30 WIB, private vehicles predominantly carrying baggage continued to arrive from Jakarta heading towards Merak Port, Banten. The majority of travellers arrived with their families to rest and refuel.
Several information posts and service facilities have been prepared for traveller use. Darmawan (58), a traveller from Jakarta, explained that he and his family were heading home to Lampung Province. He chose to travel early to avoid congestion before reaching Merak Port en route to Bakauheni Port.
“The children’s school has finished for the holidays and my work in Jakarta is completed, so I decided to travel early,” he said when met at the rest area at Km 43 on the Jakarta-Merak toll road on Sunday.
Darmawan and his family departed from Tebet, South Jakarta at 10:25 WIB and arrived at the Km 43 rest area at approximately 12:10 WIB. He noted that traffic conditions during the journey were relatively smooth.
“We expect to arrive at the port around 14:30 WIB. We’re travelling at a leisurely pace, not in a rush. Conditions are still quite clear,” he said.
Meanwhile, observations of traffic conditions on the Jakarta-Tangerang toll road, particularly towards Merak, remain busy but flowing. The vehicles passing through remain predominantly private or family vehicles.
Previously, the Traffic Unit (Satlantas) of Tangerang Police Station, Banten Police, predicted that the peak traffic congestion during the Lebaran Eid al-Fitr holiday period in 1447 Hijriah would occur on 18 March 2026. Head of the Traffic Management, Surveillance, Escort and Patrol Unit (Turjawali) at Tangerang Police Station, Senior Sergeant Asep Dedi Budiman stated that based on coordinated inter-agency meetings, the surge in holiday travel during this period would see quite significant increases.
“Given that this week marks the beginning of shared leave for both civil servants and employees,” he explained.
Asep noted that to manage this increase in traffic volume, joint personnel would focus on the holiday exodus and return routes, particularly at congestion-prone points and rest areas along the Tangerang-Merak toll road.