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Jalan tol dan underpass diharapkan dapat mengurai masalah kemacetan lalu lintas. (photo by: Ni Komang Erviani)

Ni Komang Erviani, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Thu, 12/22/2011 11:51 AM

The public works and state-owned enterprises ministers on Wednesday officially kicked off the construction of the Benoa-Nusa Dua toll road and Dewa Ruci underpass, the resort island’s latest efforts to cope with the severe traffic congestion that strangles its main tourist route.

The two projects are targeted to be completed by May 2013 in time for the APEC Meeting in 2013 and the Bali Summer Summit in 2013.

The 12-kilometer toll road, which will be built on 18,000 concrete pillars, is estimated to cost Rp 2.49 trillion (US$273.9 million) and a large part of it will run along the island’s southern shoreline.

“This will be the most beautiful toll road in Indonesia and will be a new icon for Bali,” said Akhmad Tito Karim, director of PT Jasa Marga Bali Tol, during the project’s groundbreaking ceremony at Benoa harbor.

The toll road, which will connect Benoa harbor, Ngurah Rai International Airport and the Nusa Dua tourism enclave, is being built under a public-private partnership involving seven state-owned enterprises: PT Jasa Marga Tbk, PT Pelindo III, PT Angkasa Pura I, PT Pengembangan Pariwisata Bali, PT Wijaya Karya Tbk., PT Adhi Karya Tbk., and PT Hutama Karya.

The Bali administration and the Badung regency administration have also invested Rp 100 billion each in the toll road project.

Besides cars, the toll road will also include a special lane for motorcycles.

The construction of the toll road will occupy 2 hectares of mangrove forest, for which the developer has received an approval from the Forestry Ministry. To compensate for the forest damage, PT Jasa Marga will plant 300,000 mangrove trees along the road.

Meanwhile, the Dewa Ruci underpass will be built on the Dewa Ruci junction, a busy intersection next to Mall Bali Galeria in Kuta. It is the critical point of convergence for traffic to and from the island’s most important tourism sites, including Ngurah Rai International Airport, Nusa Dua, Kuta, Sanur, Denpasar and Ubud. Long and prolonged gridlocks are a common sight at and around the intersection. The underpass will be 450 meters long and is estimated to cost Rp 136 billion from the state budget.

Motorists will not have to pay to use the underpass.

Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said that the construction of the toll road and underpass was part of the government’s master plan for the acceleration and expansion of economic development for Bali and Nusa Tenggara.

“We hope that this infrastructure project will be able to spur economic development in Bali and Nusa Tenggara, which mainly rely on the tourism sector, by providing easier access.”

State-owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said he appreciated the fast realization of this project.

“This project has been planned and prepared swiftly. I hope it can really be completed in 12 months,” he said, stressing that it would be a major achievement given that a 12 kilometer-long toll road in Surabaya, East Java, had taken 12 years to complete.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/12/22/bali-starts-construction-crucial-toll-road-underpass.html

photo by: Ni Komang Erviani

Ni Komang Erviani and Luh De Suriyani, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Fri, 12/09/2011 8:33 AM

The Bali administration will next year add a new route to the Trans Sarbagita public bus service, which is the province’s only public inter-city transportation system.

Launched to ease the island’s severe traffic congestion, the bus network will be expanded next year with a new route connecting downtown Denpasar with Udayana University and GWK (Garuda Wisnu Kencana) Cultural Park in Jimbaran.

“We are still waiting for 10 buses from the central government. Once all of those buses are here we will immediately begin operating the new route,” provincial transportation agency head Made Santha said on Thursday, adding that smaller buses would be used for the new route to adapt to the narrower and more congested roads in the downtown area.

Each of the air-conditioned buses can accommodate 25 seated and 15 standing passengers. The 15 buses that are currently serving the Trans Sarbagita first route, connecting Batubulan terminal in Gianyar with Kuta and Nusa Dua, can accommodate 36 seated and 20 standing passengers each.

“There will be no differences in ticket prices and operational hours,” Santha added.

The ticket price for the Trans Sarbagita service is Rp 3,500 (39 US cents) for regular passengers and Rp 2,500 for students. Operational hours are 5 a.m. until 9 p.m.

“Hopefully, the new route will be able to act as an alternative mode of transportation for Denpasar residents. The general public has been waiting for the opening of this downtown route,” he said.

One resident, Ni Putu Ayu Erni, said that she was just one of many people eagerly awaiting the start of the new service.

“It will save me the hassle of riding a motorbike or driving a car,” she said.

As an employee of the Nusa Dua-based Bali Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC), she said that she had been a regular user of the Trans Sarbagita service since its official launch on Aug. 18.

The public bus service has gradually won its place in the hearts of Balinese. Trans Sarbagita executive Krisbiyanto disclosed that the existing Batubulan-Nusa Dua service moved around 1,400 passengers
per week.

“Half of them are regular passengers who use the service on a daily basis to reach their workplaces,” he said, adding that foreign visitors had also begun to use the service.

The provincial administration disclosed that the final form of Trans Sarbagita would comprise 17 routes connecting strategic points in Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan.

Another Trans Sarbagita executive, Arsana Laga, stated that the existing route should increase its load to improve the route’s contribution to easing traffic congestion.

“The load factor, or passenger rate, is still at 22 percent. We have set a target of 30 percent for 2012,” he said.