The Long History of the Trans Java Toll Road, which is Now a Mainstay for Eid Homecoming

Trans Java Toll Road has become one of the mainstay routes for travelers every year. It turns out, This route, which stretches from the western to eastern tip of Java, has a long history, you know!

Quoted via the official Instagram account of the Directorate General of Highways, Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) @pupr_binamarga, Thursday (28/4/2023), This toll road has a total length 1.056,38 km. The toll road now has 20 toll road stretching from Merak to Probolinggo.

The Trans Java toll road has a long history from the era of President Soeharto to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). This toll road was built in relay over several periods, starting from 1978 until 2018.

Based on notes detikcom, Toll road construction was first initiated by the mayor (governor level) Jakarta period 1953-1960, Raden Soediro. At that time, Soediro proposed a paid road so that the Jakarta Municipal government would receive additional funds. sadly, This proposal was rejected by council members.

After a long journey and along with Jakarta traffic jams that began to appear, Finally the proposal was considered. Work on the first toll road project began during President Soeharto's leadership in 1975.

Finally, on 1978, Soeharto inaugurates the first toll road in Indonesia, namely the Jakarta-Bogor-Ciawi Toll Road (Jagorawi) throughout 59 km, as part of the Trans Java Toll Road. Within a period of time 1978 until 2004 there is 242 km of the Trans Java toll road which was opened.

Based on data from the Toll Road Regulatory Agency (BPJT), The Trans Java toll roads that Suharto inaugurated included Jakarta-Tangerang (33 km) in November 1984, Surabaya-Gempol (49 km) July 1986 and Jakarta-Cikampek (83 km) in Sept 1988. Then the Tangerang-Merak toll road (73 km) in July 1992, and Palimanan-Plumbon-Kanci (26,3 km) January 1998.

The next development period was during the leadership of the 6th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) from 2004 until 2014 with the total length of built roads 75 km. At that time, Toll road construction is entering a period of acceleration again after many projects were postponed.

Construction of the Trans Java Toll Road continues on the next page.