Traffic jams block northern Central Java roads

Tarko Sudiarno and Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Batang/Kudus

Devastating floods have destroyed the main roads linking Semarang and Surabaya along the north coast of Central Java, causing severe traffic congestion in several regencies in the province.

Many large deep holes were found in the streets in Semarang, Demak, Kudus and Pati that had been inundated by flooding over the last three weeks.

Only soil and gravel remained on the streets after the floods swept away the asphalt.

The badly damaged roads forced all vehicles, particularly big trucks, traveling between Semarang and Surabaya through the northern coastal road in Central Java to move at a snail-like pace.

This worsened the already bad situation as all the smaller vehicles had to move very slowly because the big vehicles took up most of the road.

As an example, it took between three and four hours to travel from Kudus to neighboring Demak by car due to heavy traffic. The 25-kilometer journey used to take only 30 minutes or less than one hour.

A long queue of vehicles started from Kudus town square to areas far outside the city.

It was not clear when the local administration will begin repairing the damaged streets although they were no longer flooded. Nor was it clear how much money would be needed to repair the damage.

To avoid being trapped in traffic, many small cars took an alternative route via Purwodadi regency in the southern part of Central Java.

This route was less congested, even though the road was in a similar condition with many large potholes.

Flash floods on Sunday cut off rail travel on Central Java's northern coastline in Batang regency, leaving many trains canceled or delayed. The state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) has began repairing the damaged tracks.

Until late Tuesday evening, rail travel had not yet resumed.

Makbul Sujudi, KAI head of operations for region IV in Semarang, had said the damaged tracks would be able to be used again by late Tuesday.

The repair work on the tracks above the Kali Urang river continued as KAI personnel were working to sink buffer pillars.

However, KAI officials said the repaired railroad would be tested on Tuesday's night.

Meanwhile at the Tawang railway station in Batang, only a few people were seen purchasing train tickets to Jakarta.

An employee at the local ticket booth said that up until 1 p.m. on Tuesday only 11 people had bought tickets for Jakarta.

In Semarang, the Central Java provincial administration provided Rp 8.2 billion in fund relief funds on Tuesday for 11 regencies and municipalities in the province that were affected by floods and landslides.

The assistance was delivered during a meeting between Central Java Governor Mardiyanto and the 11 regents and mayors.

He asked the regency governments to review the decision to give mining and development licenses for private companies in an effort to prevent more floods in the future.

"The recent floods and landslides were almost all linked to deforestation and the destruction of catchment areas," Mardiyanto said.

Deputy Central Java Governor Mulyadi Widodo, told the press he had asked the provincial legislative council to approve the use of Rp 225 billion in reserve funds to rebuild and repair houses and public facilities swept away by the floods.