English
Indonesia: Work on sections of LRT, high-speed railway suspended to ease traffic
The government has suspended construction of some sections of the light rapid transit (LRT) and the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway to ease worsening traffic on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, but it allows work on the elevated toll road to continue.
“We will demand the postponement of [work on] the LRT and high-speed railway projects at Kilometers 11 to 17 [of the existing Jakarta-Cikampek toll road]. We will also evaluate the interchange project at Kilometer 24,” said Transportation Minister Budi Karya in Jakarta on Tuesday as reoported by kontan.co.id.
Budi admitted that construction of the Jakarta-Cikampek elevated toll road also contributed to the heavy traffic, but the government had decided to give this project the go-ahead, because it was part of the Trans-Java toll road project that should enter operations as soon as possible.
The elevated toll road project aims to alleviate traffic on the existing Jakarta-Cikampek toll road.
The minister said Kilometers 11 to 17 of the toll road saw the worst traffic jams, as a result of the three projects. He added that work on the section would be suspended until the Idul Fitri celebration in June 2019.
The minister called on the LRT and high-speed railway project managers to move their work to other areas, because the government would give the elevated toll road project a chance to continue.
State-owned toll road operator PT Jasa marga president director Desi Arryani stressed the company needed to complete the elevated toll road project as soon as possible, because it was part of the Trans-Java toll road. (bbn)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/11/21/work-on-sections-of-lrt-high-speed-railway-suspended-to-ease-traffic.html