Toll roads ready to serve Eid travelers

Jakarta, July 12 (Antara) - State-owned road construction PT Jasa Marga said it had checked all toll roads under its operations to ensure their readiness to serve Eid travelers. "We have made preparations for the operations of the toll roads," PT Jasa Marga's Director for Obedience and Risk Management Achiran pandu Djajanto said here on Sunday. He said that preparations were made particularly for the turnpike sections of the Palimanan-Kanci (Palikanci) and Semarang-Ungaran-Bawen. "We have checked it and all sections are ready to serve travelers 24 hours," Djajanto said when seeing off the departure of travelers taking part in a Joint Eid Trip program in the Indonesia in Miniature Park (TMI) on Sunday. In he meantime, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said early this month that all national roads across the country were ready to accommodate Eid travelers. Millions of people across the country will be traveling to visit their families and friends in their hometowns for Eid. At a press conference, following a coordination meeting held at the office of the Transportation Ministry to discuss Eid transport operations, Hadimuljono stated that he had deployed officials to the field to directly monitor the readiness of roads. Although more than 60 percent of the roads are ready, several others are still being repaired, such as in Sumatra and the 20-kilometer-long Selamatan Kalimantan lane, he added. "Roads in Sulawesi are ready. In Java, the section between Cirebon and Brebes has been improved but is still vulnerable to landslides," the minister pointed out. According to Hadimuljono, travelers can now use the Trans-Java toll road network that stretches from Merak in Banten to Brebes in Central Java. Even though the Trans-Java toll road network now stretches only from Merak to Pejagan, as the Pejagan-Pemalang section has yet to be completed, the government will open the 20-kilometer section for Eid travelers. He further noted that on the whole, major work had been carried out, and four days before Eid, all construction and repair work will be halted. They will resume 14 days later after the Eid holidays. According to Director General for Road Development Hediyanto W. Husaini, lack of middle lanes will make roads in West Java the busiest for those traveling for Eid. However, with the Cikopo-Palimanan toll road, he believes traffic along these routes will be reduced. In Central Java, he added, there are three routes but they, including bridges, are still being improved. "The Pejagan-Brebes section of the toll road is not complete," he noted, adding that the government will open the Pejagan-Pemalang section for Eid. In addition, Husaini affirmed that he will prepare several posts in Brebes as meeting spots to ensure safety and smooth flow of traffic. In East Java, a few bridges are still being repaired, while all roads in Kalimantan will be fully operational 15 days before Eid.