Vehicle Queues to Gilimanuk Port Stretch 27 Kilometres, Police Reveal Causes
Vehicle queues heading to Gilimanuk Port in Bali continued to stretch far on Monday morning, 16 March 2026. The queue of vehicles reportedly extended approximately 27 kilometres from the Tabanan direction.
Turmudi, Director of Traffic at Bali Regional Police, stated that the queue had persisted since the previous day and had not fully cleared by the morning.
“Until this morning, the vehicle queue extends to km 27 from the Tabanan direction. The Google Maps screenshot above was taken from the tail end of the queue, whilst from the Buleleng direction it remains similar to last night at 8.9 km,” said Turmudi when confirmed on Monday, 16 March 2026.
According to Turmudi, the length of queues from both directions is dynamic. Queues can lengthen or shorten as vehicles continuously enter the ferry crossing route, whilst ships also gradually transport vehicles to their destination ports.
He explained that the congestion was not caused by traffic jams on highways, but rather by vehicles waiting to board the ferry. To maintain orderly conditions, police deployed personnel at several strategic points, including at the Cekik intersection, which serves as one of the meeting points of vehicle flows heading to the port.
“The efforts we are undertaking continue to place personnel at the Cekik intersection meeting point and conduct patrols to ensure queue order and awaken drivers who are asleep in their vehicles in the queue to move again,” he said.
In addition, traffic management continued to be carried out by the Traffic and Public Order Task Force together with local police units to keep vehicle flow to the port area under control.
Based on preliminary data until 10:30 am Central Indonesian Time, travel time from the end of the queue to the port was recorded at approximately 1 hour and 44 minutes.
Previously, Bali Regional Police conducted various measures to clear the long queues of vehicles heading to Gilimanuk Port, Jembrana District, on Sunday ahead of the Lebaran homecoming rush in 2026.
Senior Commissioner Soelistijono, Head of the Operations Bureau at Bali Regional Police, stated that all personnel involved in Operation Ketupat Agung 2026 were working at maximum capacity day and night to ensure the homecoming traffic flow remained safe and orderly.
“Bali Regional Police together with all stakeholders continue to make efforts to clear vehicle congestion heading to Gilimanuk Port through various measures, ranging from traffic management and traffic engineering to the implementation of vehicle delay systems,” he said.