The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Fri, January 11 2013,
The Jakarta–Merak toll road remains inaccessible after flood waters two meters deep inundated the toll road between kilometer 57 and 58 since Thursday. Extreme weather has made the situation even worse.
Thousands of trucks aiming to cross the Sunda Strait to Bakauheni Port in Lampung became stuck just outside Merak Port in Banten, causing traffic gridlock in Cikuasa Atas, Cilegon, Banten. Meanwhile in Bakauheni Port, a seven-kilometer line of trucks halted their journey to Java due to the extreme weather.
State-owned seaport operator PT ASDP corporate secretary Christine Hutabarat said that the company had halted the Merak-Bakauheni trips since Wednesday night due to high waves coupled with strong winds.
“According to the BMKG [Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency], the wave level has reached four meters. We have to halt the Merak-Bakauheni trips for the sake of safety. We are very sorry for the inconvenience and I hope that our customers understand this,” Christine said on Friday as quoted by tempo.co.
The company was preparing a contingency plan to ease traffic congestion, she added.
“We have coordinated with all relevant bodies in the port. We hope that our partners will prepare transportation to avoid worsening traffic gridlock,” she said.
vr 11 jan 2013 - 20:05