Road Maintenance Accelerated to Strengthen Road User Safety
The Maur-Terawas stretch, site of the incident, forms part of the Central Sumatra Crossroad with a length of 35.98 kilometres and an average width of 5.6 metres. Meanwhile, the corridor from Lubuk Linggau to the Jambi border totals approximately 98 kilometres, with the national road stability condition reaching 91 per cent.
The government, through the South Sumatra National Road Implementation Centre (BBPJN), had previously carried out road preservation during the 2026 Eid homecoming and return flows, leaving the road sections in a managed condition at that time. However, high rainfall in recent months has caused the re-emergence of several new pothole spots, which are now being addressed.
Director General of Highway Development Roy Rizali Anwar expressed condolences to the accident victims. Roy hopes that in the future, supervision needs to be enhanced again, both in the road sector, traffic police, and the operations of goods or passenger transport vehicles.
Roy stated that his side is still awaiting the investigation results from the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), the Ministry of Transportation, and the Police regarding the cause of the accident.
“As we know, the Maur-Terawas road section is part of the Trans-Sumatra Road corridor from Lubuk Linggau to the Jambi border, with a national road stability condition of 91 per cent over a total length of 98 kilometres,” Roy explained in his statement on Monday (11/5/2026).
Meanwhile, Director of Road and Bridge Preservation for Region I of the Directorate General of Highway Development Hendro Satrio said that the potholes at the location are relatively small and not deep, but they remain a concern for immediate handling.
“We have already inspected the condition along this road section; indeed, there are several potholes at the location, but they are small and not deep,” Hendro clarified.
According to Hendro, the accelerated handling is being carried out using rubber asphalt material or CPHMA in accordance with the instructions of the Director General of Highway Development.
“Insya Allah, within the next few days, we will patch all the potholes; earlier, it was instructed by the Director General of Highway Development to use rubber asphalt,” he said.
In addition to road handling, the government is still awaiting investigation results regarding possible causes of the accident, including information on engine sparks on the bus and suspicions of driver microsleep.
To ensure the accelerated handling runs optimally, Roy along with his team conducted a direct inspection of the Trans-Sumatra Road corridor from Lubuk Linggau to the Jambi border on Friday (8/5).