Road project worsens congestion

Road project worsens congestion

BEKASI: Residents in Pondok Gede are calling upon the local
administration, which plans to widen Jl. Raya Jatiwaringin later
this year, to conduct the work at night to avoid worsening the
traffic jams.

Mutiah, 30, complained that she often was late to work due to
the chronic traffic congestion on the road every day, especially
during rush hour.

Therefore, the project to widen the road should be conducted
at night, otherwise, it would worsen the traffic, she said.

A number of pak ogah (self-appointed traffic monitors who do
the job for tips) who operate on the street actually make things
worse, she added.

The Bekasi administration has allocated Rp 8 billion to widen
the road from Pangkalan Jati to Pondok Gede market, by six meters
by the end of the year. The money was appropriated from the 2002
budget.

It had planned to start the work earlier, but was forced to
delay the project due to a dispute involving the Assaffi'iyah
Foundation, which owns some of the land which needed to be
cleared to make way for the project.

The foundation had earlier promised to give away the land for
free, but it later retracted the offer and asked for
compensation. --Antara