Road maintenance budget deplored

Road maintenance budget deplored

TANGERANG (JP): Nearly 1000 kilometers of the total 1,160
kilometers of roads in the Tangerang regency are reportedly in
poor condition, with the local public works office only able to
repair 50 percent of the damage.

"The data also shows that 80 percent of 928 kilometers of the
road is badly damaged," chief of the Tangerang Public Works
office Muntiyno said on Wednesday.

"In a bid to fix the roads, we're only surviving with minimum
maintenance ... avenues in other part of Tangerang must wait in
turn," he said.

The local administration has allocated a Rp 13 billion budget
to repair the roads, a figure which Muntiyono said was "not
enough".

He said many thoroughfares needed immediate attention. Roads
in poor condition included those along the Kresek-Jenggot route
and the Balaraja-Kronjo route.

"We need an average of Rp 300 million per kilometer for
repairs," he said, adding that the administration would put roads
in the southern part of the regency, which connect Jakarta and
Tangerang, as its top priority because of the heavy traffic on
the routes.

This reason explains why road repairs in many remote areas and
the western part of the regency remain neglected.

In the 2000/2001 fiscal year, the administration has proposed
a total of Rp 30 billion for road construction works on the North
coastal lane, including the 24-kilometer-long Kresek-Kronjo and
Kronjo-Mauk routes.

"The road is to be developed to help support economic
development and business activities in those areas," Muntiyono
said.

He also said that his office must deal with serious flooding
problems during the rainy season.

"We are preparing to build a canal to avoid possible
flooding," he said without elaborating. (41/edt)