Gombel Lama Road in Semarang Will Soon Be Repaired, Traffic Will Be Relocated

JAKARTA - Gombel Lama Street in Semarang City, Central Java (Jateng) began to be closed completely on Monday, April 20, as repairs by the Ministry of Public Works (PU) began.

During the work period, traffic will be diverted through Jalan Gombel Baru or Jalan Setiabudi.

The closure was carried out to support the smooth construction process and maintain the safety of road users.

The project to handle the 1.27 kilometer (km) section is estimated to last seven months.

Minister PU Dody Hanggodo said that road and bridge connectivity is a vital infrastructure that must always be in reliable condition.

"Road and bridge connectivity is the lifeblood of people's lives and the regional economy," said Dody, quoted from a written statement, Monday, April 20.

Head of the Central Java-Yogyakarta Special Region (DIY) National Road Implementation Agency (BBPJN), Moch Iqbal Tamher, explained that the work includes reconstruction at two landslide-prone points and the repair of the road pavement structure as a whole.

According to him, the geological conditions in the Gombel area are considered unstable and prone to land movement, so they require special handling.

"At the point of the landslide, demolition will be carried out to the basic structure, then strengthened using bore piles with a depth of up to 28 meters and mini piles on the road body," he said.

In addition, road pavement repairs are carried out using two layers of asphalt, namely AC-BC with a thickness of 6 cm and AC-WC with a thickness of 4 cm.

The width of the road is still maintained at 10.5 meters to maintain traffic capacity.

During the work, Jalan Gombel Lama was closed completely because it required a thorough demolition, especially in landslide-prone areas.

Iqbal said his party had coordinated with the Semarang Police Traffic Unit and carried out socialization to the public regarding the closure.

To anticipate the density, Satlantas will implement traffic engineering in the form of a priority system on Jalan Gombel Baru, especially for vehicles from the bottom to Semarang.

Meanwhile, heavy vehicles are advised to use the toll road through the Banyumanik-Jatingaleh section.

He added that the work was targeted to be completed within seven months with acceleration efforts in the field.

"We will optimize the implementation so that the work can be completed faster than the target. Support from the community is highly expected so that this work runs smoothly and provides optimal benefits for the safety and comfort of road users," he said.

The PU Ministry stated its commitment to continue to improve the quality of national road infrastructure to support regional connectivity and road user safety, especially on sections with challenging geological conditions such as in the Gombel area, Semarang.