As the number of vehicles on land routes increases amid mudik (exodus), the police have implemented traffic-engineering schemes, such as one-way and contraflow control measures as seen on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road.
By
Kompas Team
·5 minutes read
FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN
Thousands of cars line up at the Cikampek Utama Toll Gate, Karawang, West Java, Wednesday (19/4/2023) early morning. A surge in travelers started to occur on Trans-Java a few days ahead of the Idul Fitri 2023.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — As of Tuesday evening (18/4/2023), escalations in the numbers of homecoming travelers occurred on the trans-Java highway, airports and Sunda Strait ferry terminal. The one-way and contraflow traffic scheme on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road is aimed at breaking up traffic congestion.
The contraflow lane, which took effect on Tuesday at 11 p.m., begins at Kilometer (Km) 47 of the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road and ends at Km 72, a few kilometers after the main toll gate in Karawang, West Java.
"We are currently preparing to set up a contraflow lane. It will begin to take effect at around 11 p.m.," National Police traffic law enforcement director Brig. Gen. Aan Suhanan said when contacted a few hours before its implementation.
The rising traffic density on Tuesday became imminent with Wednesday (19/4) having been announced as the starting day of the public holidays. "The number of travelers began to increase after 9 p.m. as people set out on their trips after tarawih [Ramadan evening prayers]. Today [Tuesday] as a whole went smoothly," Aan said.
Based on Kompas monitoring, traffic density began to increase at 8 p.m. from the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ) elevated toll road to the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road at Km 47. Vehicles were forced to move at only about 20 kilometers per hour. The congestion prompted traffic authorities to impose a contraflow system with two lanes of the opposing road section (Cikampek-Jakarta route) being used for Jakarta-Cikampek traffic.
The MBZ elevated toll road toward Cikampek was temporarily closed at around 9 p.m. due to an accident. This resulted in the underpass section being congested. One and a half hours later traffic was redirected onto the MBZ, which only accommodates smaller vehicles.
The number of travelers began to increase after 9 p.m. as people set out on their trips after tarawih [Ramadan evening prayers].
The Cipali toll road began to implement a one-way traffic scheme at around 3 p.m. on Tuesday from Km 72 to Km 41 at the Kalikangkung toll gate, Central Java.
Traffic had got stuck at Km 72+400 during the day because the traffic corridor narrowed from three lanes of the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road to two lanes entering the Cipali toll road. Once the one-way scheme was put in place, the density eased.
National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, during his site inspection to Kalikangkung, said the density of vehicles, which had been reported on Tuesday, expected to reach its peak on Wednesday. To anticipate traffic congestion, traffic authorities have applied a one-way traffic scheme from the Cikampek toll gate to Kalikangkung. The traffic engineering may extend to the Bawen section if the traffic load at the Kalikangkung toll gate exceeds 60,000 vehicles per hour.
FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN
Homecomers are stuck in a traffic jam at the Cikampek Utama Toll Gate, Karawang, West Java, Wednesday (19/4/2023) morning. There were 242,142 vehicles leaving Jabodetabek on D-5 Idul Fitri 2023, consisting of 123,863 vehicles traveling on toll roads and 72,248 vehicles traveling on arterial roads.
With the implementation of the traffic engineering disrupting traffic heading from East Java and Central Java to West Java or Jakarta, Listyo instructed regional police authorities to disseminate the information on a regular basis to the public regarding traffic engineering.
With concerns about traffic accidents, Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy suggested that travelers prepare a backup driver.
“Last year's Idul Fitri homecoming season recorded the highest number of accidents. Most of the toll road accidents occurred in East Java and Central Java, followed by West Java. It appears the farther from the starting point of departure, the higher the potential for accidents. So, prepare properly," he said.
Sea crossing
At the Sunda Strait ferry terminal, an increase in the number of travelers also began to occur. Data at the state-owned sea transportation operator PT ASDP shows 47,544 passengers left from Merak, Ciwandan and Bandar Bakau Jaya to Bakauheni, Panjang and Muara Pilu as of Tuesday at 8 p.m. The data also recorded a total of 8,899 vehicles, comprising 6,005 cars, 1,613 motorcycles with the rest being trucks. Ferry authorities dispatched 44 ferry journeys.
ASDP director for commercial and services Ferry Yusuf Hadi said that Tuesday had seen a significant escalation of passengers traveling from Java to Sumatra and it was expected to reach its peak on Wednesday night with an estimated increase of 10-15 percent from the previous day.
"The occupancy rate of ships has reached 50 percent per day, which is a 20 increase from last week," he said.
Pier 6 of the executive terminal of Merak seaport looked deserted at around 8 p.m. after a ferry with around 80 passengers on board departed.
Meanwhile, based on data at the 2023 Idul Fitri information center at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, as many as 119,718 people embarked on 778 flights on Tuesday. The figure was dominated by departing passengers, who amounted to 70,095 people on 434 flights, while 49,623 people arrived on 344 flights.
"We predict an increase in the number of passengers tomorrow with H-1 or Friday being the peak. “We are all in place, including the preparation of Terminal 1B," M Holik Muwardi, Soekarno-Hatta Airport senior manager for branch communication and legal affairs, said.
Terminal 1B, which has not been operated since the COVID-19 pandemic, is ready for use if the number of departures from Terminal 1A reaches 31,000 passengers.
