Jakarta government to build alternative roads ahead MRT construction

The Jakarta government will start building alternative roads in August to contain the traffic during the physical construction of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project.

Spokesman for Jakarta Government, Nurachman, told Antara state news agency that the construction mainly comprises of widening existing roads rather than building new ones.

He added the Rp 25 billion (US$2.4 million) funding for the road construction would come from this year’s regional budget.

“The number is not high because we won’t need to acquire any land, so we can trim down the road construction costs,” he said Monday.

The roads along the MRT route linking Lebak Bulus-Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta will widen by six meters as long as 600 meters.

The Jakarta government had predicted that the construction of the 14.5-kilometer route, which is slated for 2010, will cause heavy traffic congestions and therefore had decided to build alternative roads in the area.

The route will start from Lebak Bulus and pass through Jl. Fatmawati, Jl. Cipete Raya, Jl. Haji Nawi, Blok M, Jl. Sisingamangaraja, Senayan, Istora and Bendungan Hilir, and end at Dukuh Atas.

The route is expected to be up and running in 2016. (adh)

Source:  JakartaPost