Heavy Traffic Reported in Bogor, Bandung as Holiday-Goers Head Out of Jakarta
Jakarta. Although Jakarta's roads have been mostly quiet since the weekend, those in nearby cities, such as Bogor and Bandung in West Java, were busier than usual as holiday-goers flock to popular resorts, Antara News agency reported.
Indra Kurniawan, 25, a resident of Cianjur, which is located along one of the main routes between Jakarta and Bandung, told Antara that while it normally takes 45 minutes to drive from the capital to Cianjur, it took him more than five hours on Sunday (25/12) due to heavy traffic.
"I thought it would be more quiet in the afternoon," Indra said. He added that there was heavy traffic on both the main roads and alternative roads in Puncak.
According to Antara, hundreds of police officers were deployed along the roads between Puncak and Cianjur, with temporary traffic barriers having been installed to prevent drivers from leaving traffic lanes.
Heavy traffic was also reported on the road between Puncak and nearby Cipanas, with vehicles backed up for more than three kilometers at the Ciawi exit on the Jakarta-Ciawi toll road, according to Bogor Police traffic unit chief First Insp. Anaga Budiarso.
"The traffic has been backed up from the Ciawi exit gate to the Gadog intersection since the morning," Anaga said. He added that the situation was worsened by an accident involving a truck that knocked over an electrical pole in Megamendung subdistrict at around 05.00 a.m. on Monday.
Police implemented a contraflow system between 09.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. on Monday to provide more lanes for vehicles traveling from Jakarta to Puncak, in an attempt to ease traffic flow.
Bandung
Heavy traffic was also reported since Sunday on the Pasteur toll road in Bandung, which is home to various tourist attractions such as mountain resorts in Lembang, entertainment parks, culinary spots, cultural sites and shopping malls.
Susilo, who oversees the Pasteur toll gate, told Antara on Sunday that despite the authorities having limited the types of vehicles entering the Purbaleunyi toll road after discovering a defect in one of the Cisomang bridge's pillars, traffic was still unusually heavy.
He predicted that traffic volumes would continue to increase between Monday and New Year's Eve on Saturday.
Antara also reported that while some shopping malls, such as Plaza Indonesia, and the Ancol beach area were busy on Monday, Jakarta's main roads, including Jalan Sudirman and Jalan Thamrin, appeared quiet.
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