Road Barriers in Mataram Dismantled by Residents, Traffic Jams and Commuter Complaints

Road barriers at the Rembiga intersection in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, have been dismantled by local residents. The removal of the barriers has triggered long traffic jams, with many motorists complaining about being late for work.

One of those complaining about the congestion is a motorist named Annisa. According to her, the jam caused by the dismantling of the road barriers at the Rembiga intersection lasted up to 30 minutes, even though she had set off early in the morning.

“The congestion here is really bad. The road is narrow, but the number of vehicles is high,” Annisa said in an interview on Monday (31/8/2026).

The road barriers at the Rembiga intersection were previously installed by the Mataram Transport Agency. They were put in place to manage traffic flow and break up congestion on Jalan Dr. Wahidin in Mataram. Annisa felt that the traffic management scheme was effective.

“The previous traffic management was really effective. Residents from Gunung Sari, West Lombok, heading to Mataram could just go straight without any jams. Now the barriers have been forcibly removed by residents, so it is congested again,” Annisa explained.

Nurul, a resident of Rembiga sub-district in Selaparang, Mataram, also complained about the congestion in her area. Since the traffic management scheme was introduced, the area had been far from congested and had received positive appreciation from road users.

“If possible, it should be a single lane. If necessary, use concrete so that it cannot be dismantled by irresponsible individuals,” Nurul requested.

According to Nurul, congestion in Rembiga sub-district has been a long-standing problem, felt by both road users and local residents.

“We pass through there every day and feel the impact. We usually have to spend a long time there, but after the traffic management was introduced, the area became quick and free of jams,” Nurul said.

“We ask the government not to give in to a handful of people. Road users strongly support the traffic management scheme,” Nurul added.

The Head of the Mataram Transport Agency, Zulkarwin, said that the agency is gathering residents’ aspirations in order to find common ground on the traffic management trial.

“The purpose of the scheme is to ease public access and overcome congestion. If there are complaints from the public, we, as the back-up in Mataram for the traffic management initiator, will certainly accommodate them,” Zulkarwin explained.

“Yesterday at the sub-district office, we met with resident representatives together with the Traffic Unit Chief of the Mataram Police and the Provincial Transport Agency. We gathered complaints regarding declining turnover, increased vehicle traffic on residential roads, and the difficulty of public access to the sub-district office,” Zulkarwin said.

For information, a number of residents forcibly dismantled the road barriers installed as part of the traffic management scheme at the Rembiga intersection on Sunday (30/8/2026). The forced removal is believed to have had an impact on the economic activities of residents around the intersection. Traders claimed their daily turnover had declined after the traffic management scheme was introduced.