Minister Of Public Works And Minister Of Transportation Review The Pantura Line, ODOL Trucks Are The Main Cause Of Road Damage

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Public Works (PU) Dody Hanggodo and Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Dudy Purwagandhi conducted direct inspections on the North Coast Line (Pantura), precisely at the Batang City Boundary section of Kendal Regency KM SMG 75+600, Central Java Province, Wednesday night, February 26.

The visit aims to review the road repair process which will support the smooth flow of Eid Al-Fitr 2025 homecoming.

Dody explained that the repair of potholes on the Pantura route continues to be carried out by the Central Java National Road Implementation Center (BBPJN) to ensure that the route can function optimally during the peak of the homecoming flow, which is an important alternative for the Trans Java Toll Road.

"God willing, preparations for the fasting month and Eid al-Fitr are as planned. As directed by President Prabowo, we are working hard to ensure that the homecoming infrastructure is ready so that people who want to return to their hometowns can feel safe, smooth and comfortable," said Dody as quoted from the video upload on his official Instagram account @dody_hanggodo, Friday, February 28.

Dody also revealed that one of the main problems faced was the presence of obese trucks or Over Dimension Over Loading (ODOL) which still often operates on toll roads and national roads.

The truck with excess cargo caused faster road infrastructure damage, so closer cooperation between various parties was needed to deal with the problem.

"The main problem that we are still facing remains the same, namely Over Dimension Over Loading (ODOL) trucks that are still roaming the toll roads and national roads. We are looking for a joint solution so that road damage can be handled quickly," he said.

To note, the National Police estimates that the number of travelers at the moment of Eid 2025 will reach more than 100 million people. Therefore, anticipatory steps for congestion or traffic jams will be taken.

"Based on last year's experience as well as movement during Christmas and New Year (Nataru), the number of travelers is estimated to be above 100 million people. Therefore, we will take more mature anticipatory steps," said Deputy Main Assistant for Operations (Wanastamops) National Police Chief Inspector General Endi Sutendi in his statement, Wednesday, February 26.

Efforts are made to anticipate congestion by implementing a traffic engineering scheme on toll roads. However, regarding the implementation time, it will be situational.

This means that the traffic engineering scheme will be implemented if officers in the field think that it is necessary to break down traffic congestion

"For the scheme on toll roads, we will see the situation and conditions on the ground. If necessary, we will implement a contraflow, a one-way system and divert the flow to arterial routes to facilitate traffic," he said.

In addition, the National Police will cooperate with various relevant agencies to ensure smooth homecoming and backflow. Thus, efforts made to anticipate congestion will be maximized.