BALI (BINA MARGA) - The Mengwitani-Singaraja Section in the Province of Bali is a path that divides the island of Bali and connects the North and South of the Island of Bali. In this section there are Bedugul tourist areas, Lake Beratan, Lake Tamblingan, and Botanical Gardens.

As tourist visits increase, this section is often hit by traffic congestion, especially on holidays and religious holidays. Not only that, the road contour here is also uphill and winding. Therefore, the government through the VIII National Road Implementation Center (BBPJN) plans to build a number of shortcuts (SC) or cutting roads at several points.

On Sunday (23/9), Director General of Bina Marga Sugiyartanto accompanied by the Head of BBPJN VIII I Ketut Dharmawahana conducted a field visit to the Mengwitani-Singaraja Section in Bali Province.

"The main mission of this shortcut is to reduce congestion and make the rider more comfortable. That is to reduce the slope and bend radius that is too small," said Ketut.

According to Ketut, his office tried to normalize all bends that did not meet the requirements. "We will normalize the radius because in the past when this road was made there were no rules like that," he added.

At present the average bend radius of Mengwitani-Singaraja is 15 meters with an 8-12% road slope.

Out of the 10 SCs planned, currently only 5 and 6 SCs are currently being auctioned. Ketut said that if the auction process went smoothly, next month the work contract could be signed.

"The plan is for this work to be completed in December 2019," explained Ketut.

On the same occasion, Ketut accompanied the Director General of Highways, Sugiyartanto to see the prospective SC 3 & 4 locations in KM 47 + 500 - 49 + 076, Batunya Village & Candikuning Village, Baturiti District, Tabanan.

It is planned that SC 3 & 4 will be built along 1576 meters consisting of 1089.86 meters of roads and 486.24 meters of bridges, with a maximum slope of only 8%. While the estimated cost of the two SCs is around Rp. 170 Billion.

However, Ketut said that for the construction of SC 3 & 4 it still needed design optimization and it was hoped that the pre-contract period could be completed by December.

Ketut hopes that this Shortcut work can accelerate the travel time of North and South Bali. "North Bali is considered underdeveloped because of one of the factors, if there is considered uncomfortable and long time," he concluded. (Ian)