In 2020, we had a problem with flooding on the toll road. For this reason, I urge the public to remain vigilant about the risk of flooding.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has urged Indonesians to remain alert against the potential for extreme weather, which has been predicted for the Christmas and New Year holidays by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

"We have coordinated with the BMKG and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to anticipate the potential of unfriendly weather. In 2020, we had a problem with flooding on the toll road. For this reason, I urge the public to remain vigilant about the risk of flooding," he said while reviewing the situation on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road on Friday.

Sumadi informed that he has coordinated with the police, BMKG, Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry, state-owned toll road operator Jasa Marga, and other related elements to prepare anticipatory measures against overcrowding and mitigate the risk of flooding.

To deal with extreme weather, which could cause flooding, efforts have been made to make culverts on the toll road and carry out rain-making engineering, he said.

Meanwhile, in order to anticipate traffic congestion, traffic engineering measures have been prepared, such as one-way or contraflow, he added.

"The Police Traffic Corps has the authority to apply traffic engineering in the field. However, I have asked them to consider the impact that will occur on other road branches and also on the return route," Sumadi said.

He noted that the Jakarta, Cikampek, to Semarang toll roads are among the crucial points of traffic congestion during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

On Friday, Sumadi conducted his review of the toll road route from Halim, Jakarta, to Cikampek on board a helicopter.

Upon arriving at Cikampek, Sumadi held a coordination meeting with a number of related parties at the Jasa Marga office at Km 71b, Cikampek Utama.

He pointed to a number of new toll roads that will require attention to ease congestion, namely Cisumdawu and Jakarta Cikampek 2.

In addition, several road points are also becoming a concern over their potential to flood due to extreme weather, namely, Km 136, Km 151, and the national road on the Cipunegara River Bridge, Subang, West Java.

"We predict there will be congestion from Jakarta to Semarang toll road. From our air monitoring, we can see there is an increase but there is no congestion or traffic congestion yet," he said.

Furthermore, the minister asked the police to carry out surveillance in tourist areas and enforce the law against tourism buses that violate the provisions.

He also appealed to people traveling by motorcycle to be careful and prioritize safety.

“It is best not to travel more than 100 km. Because statistics show that the highest number of road accidents involve motorcycle users," he said.


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Translator: Adimas Raditya F P, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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