'Contraflow' to Ease Post-Lebaran Traffic on Cipali, Cikampek Toll Roads
Jakarta. Authorities have implemented "contraflow" traffic detours on various stretches of the Cikampek-Palimanan toll road and Jakarta-Cikampek toll road to ease traffic jams caused by a surge of cars returning to the capital city after the Idul Fitri holiday.
On advice from state toll road operator Jasa Marga, the police started implementing the contraflow detour — which allows cars heading to Jakarta to occupy lanes in the opposite direction — since 03.50 p.m. on Saturday, Jasa Marga spokesman Dwimawan Heru Santoso said in a statement on Saturday (01/07).
The detour meant vehicles heading to Palimanan near Cirebon, a city in West Java that is the gateway to Central Java for travelers taking the North Coast (Pantura) route, from the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road must get out of the toll road from the Cikopo toll gate near Purwakarta, West Java, and the Kalihurip toll gate in Cikampek, West Java.
Jasa Marga, which operates the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road that connects Cipali toll road with the capital city, also implemented contraflow since Sunday morning, as traffic jams started to appear around rest areas.
"Heavy traffic on Km 62, Km 52 and Km 42 rest areas was causing long queues on the toll road," Jasa Marga spokesman Handoyo said as quoted by Antara news agency on Sunday.
Contraflow on the Cikampek toll road — which on normal days is already the busiest toll road in the country — is implemented from Km 62 to Km 35.
"The contraflow detour has been on over a 27-kilometer of the toll road since 10.40 a.m. [on Sunday]," he said.
Anticipating heavy traffic after the Idul Fitri holiday, Jasa Marga opened 31 ticket booths at the Cikarang Utama toll gate, the gate where drivers heading to Jakarta need to pay their toll fares.
A contingency plan also exits to divert traffic heading to Jakarta through the West Cikarang 2 toll gate, meaning drivers will be forced to exit from this toll gate before they can be allowed to enter the toll road again from the West Cikarang 4 gate for no additional charge.
Jasa Marga offers 24-hour updates on toll road conditions through its official Twitter account @PTJASAMARGA, Instagram account @official.jasamarga, mobile app JMCARe and its official website www.jasamarga.com.
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