JAKARTA- (BINA MARGA) Sinayartanto, Director General of Highways at the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) explained the toll road readiness, especially on the islands of Java and Sumatra, to the media at the Merdeka Barat 9 Forum at the Ministry of Information and Communication, Jakarta on Monday ( 20/05).

As in previous years, the main focus is on the homecoming routes in Java and Sumatra. The choice of routes chosen by travelers is also varied, either through toll roads or national roads.

Sugiyartanto said, going back and forth this time the Trans Java Toll Road was fully operational along 965 Km from Merak in Banten to Probolinggo in East Java.

"In East Java there is also a (new) operational along the 31 Km part of the Pandaan - Malang toll road section 1-3," he explained.

Even though it is already operating, the Pandaan-Malang toll road has not yet imposed a tariff on the vehicles that cross it. The Director General of Highways said, in order to increase the comfort of travelers when leaving Jakarta. Sugiyartanto said that the Cikarang Utama Toll Gate (GT) will be relocated to two points to reduce vehicle blockages. First, travelers go directly to the Cikampek Utama GT for those heading to the Cipularang toll road or exit via GT Kalihurip Utama for travelers to the Cikampek Toll Road (to Java).

At the time of going home later, GT Cikampek Utama will serve with 21 entry stations and 21 substations out. While GT Kalihurip Utama served through 22 entry stations and 22 substations came out. This amount applies to the One Way scenario.

Sugiyartanto also said that 36.4 km of the Jakarta Cikampek (Japek) II (elevated) Toll Road could not be used during the current homecoming. Because there are several points that intersect with the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung Fast Train and Light Rail Transit.

"The third construction schedule is at the same time, we finally agreed to toll road first," he said.

Even so, he guarantees that the existing four lanes of the Cikampek toll road will be free of obstacles because construction works are stopped during Lebaran mudik. "H-10 to H + 10 stop jobs and traffic settings depend on the situation," he said.

While on the Trans Sumatra Toll Road, travelers can try out a number of new functional toll roads, namely Terbangi Besar-Pematang Panggang along 189 km in Lampung Province, Kayu Agung - Palembang Betung (33 Km) in South Sumatra, and Helvetia segment - Jl. Veteran (2.8 km) is part of the Medan-Binjai toll road.

"Even though it is functional, its physical condition can actually be operational (paid) but there are still lack of equipment," Sugiyartanto said.

He also said that the public must anticipate the traffic jam on the exit of the Big Fly GT. "Yes it is jammed because there is a market we will coordinate with the police," he explained.

The Trans Sumatra Toll Road which has been operating and is used as a homecoming lane is Bakauheni Toll Road - Big Fly (140 km), Palembang - Indralaya (21.93 km), Helvetia-Semayang (6.18km), Semayang-Binjai (4.28 km ), Medan-Kuala Namu-Tebing Tinggi (62.11km), and Belawan-Medan-Tanjung Morawa (42.7km).

Sugiyartanto said that the government targets the Trans Sumatra Toll Road which runs from Aceh to Lampung to be completed in 2024. (ian)