Vehicle Volumes Surge at KM 43 Rest Area on Jakarta-Merak Toll Road
Tangerang Regency — Growing numbers of vehicles are arriving at the KM 43 rest area on the Jakarta-Merak toll road in Jayanti, Tangerang Regency, Banten, as early-season Eid 1447 Hijriah exodus (mudik) traffic begins heading towards Merak port for ferries to Sumatra.
From observations starting at 12:30 WIB on Sunday, privately owned vehicles packed with belongings continued arriving from Jakarta towards Merak port in Banten. Most travellers came with families to rest and refuel before continuing their journeys.
Several checkpoints and service facilities provided by the police, Pertamina, ASDP, and local government authorities have been readied for mudik travellers. Darmawan, 58, a traveller from Jakarta, said he was departing for his hometown in Lampung province with his family. He chose to leave early to avoid congestion before reaching Merak port to sail to Bakauheni port.
“My children’s school holidays happened to start and my work in Jakarta is finished, so I decided to travel early,” he said when met at the KM 43 rest area on Sunday. Darmawan’s family departed from Tebet, South Jakarta at 10:25 WIB and arrived at the rest area around 12:10 WIB. He reported traffic conditions were relatively smooth during the journey.
“We expect to reach the port around 14:30 WIB. We’re taking it easy, no rush. Conditions are still uncongested,” he said.
Traffic observations on the Jakarta-Tangerang toll road, particularly towards Merak, showed busy but flowing conditions, dominated by private vehicles and families.
Earlier, the Traffic Unit (Satlantas) of Tangerang Metropolitan Police Headquarters, Banten Police, predicted peak congestion on the toll routes within their jurisdiction would occur on 18 March 2026. Iptu Asep Dedi Budiman, Head of the Traffic Management, Security, Escort and Patrol Unit (Turjawali) at Tangerang Metropolitan Police Headquarters, stated that inter-agency coordination meetings indicated a significant increase in mudik traffic would occur, as shared leave and holidays for employees and civil servants began this week.
“Peak mudik traffic is predicted for 18 March 2026, as both civil servants and employees take shared leave,” he said.
Asep stated that to manage the surge in traffic volumes, combined personnel would concentrate on mudik and return routes, including congestion-prone points and rest areas on the Tangerang-Merak toll road. Return traffic is estimated to occur on 24-25 March 2026.
“Return traffic is predicted for 24 and 25 March, when shared leave ends,” he said.
He revealed that traffic engineering measures have been prepared to manage vehicles entering Tangerang Regency, both on toll roads and arterial roads. To handle the congestion, his team would collaborate with all stakeholders, including toll road operators and managers Jasa Marga, and Tangerang Regency Transportation Service.
“Prevention measures include establishing 12 security and traveller service posts. We have prepared personnel deployment from the Metro or Tangsel boundary up to Serang Regency boundary. On the toll road, there are two service posts at KM 43 and KM 45,” he said.