Skip to main content

Innovative road/drainage tunnel plan for Jakarta

An innovative combined road and drainage tunnel is being proposed for Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. A study is underway at the moment for this novel integrated tunnel project, which is expected to cost in the region of US$1.88 billion. Work is due to commence during 2015, with the initial phase of the construction being carried out by Antaredja Mulia Jaya. The project is calling for two 12km tunnels that will help alleviate flooding in the city during periods of high rainfall as well as featuring a road. The
February 16, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSAn innovative combined road and drainage tunnel is being proposed for Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. A study is underway at the moment for this novel integrated tunnel project, which is expected to cost in the region of US$1.88 billion. Work is due to commence during 2015, with the initial phase of the construction being carried out by Antaredja Mulia Jaya. The project is calling for two 12km tunnels that will help alleviate flooding in the city during periods of high rainfall as well as featuring a road. The plan calls for the tunnels to be complete in three years. One of the tunnels will link Tanah Abang with Ulujami and the other will connect Manggarai with Bale Kambang.

The project is similar in concept at least to the 5333 Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel's (SMART) section constructed in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur some years ago. Like Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur also suffers from heavy rainfall at times and the two cities share similar climactic conditions. With a heavy focus on vehicle traffic for transportation, congestion was an issue in Kula Lumpur and the city authorities decided to tackle two issues in one by construction the SMART project. Jakarta’s traffic congestion is also a major problem.

For most of the time Kuala Lumpur’s SMART link operates as a dual deck road tunnel, providing an express route for traffic under the city. But during periods of heavy rain, its road decks are closed to cars and carry. The SMART tunnel is 9.8km long and its central 3km carries out the dual role, with traffic carried on two decks. Floodwater can be carried in the lowest portion of the tunnel, beneath the lower road deck. The road decks are protected from flooding to maximise safety and can also be closed to traffic and opened to flood flows when the water levels are particularly high.

Those involved in building the project in Jakarta stand to learn a lot from how the SMART link was constructed in Kuala Lumpur as it went, broadly speaking, to plan. Despite geological and technical challenges, the tunnel was constructed within the planned two year period and $464 million budget, without major incident.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Indonesia’s new capital toll road connection
    November 20, 2023
    Indonesia’s new capital toll road connection will be complete in 2024.
  • Jakarta’s jams top traffic congestion toll
    May 22, 2015
    A survey by oil firm Castrol reveals that Indonesia’s capital Jakarta suffers the worst traffic delays of any city in the world. Turkey’s commercial centre Istanbul comes second in the congestion study, with Mexico City in third place. Castrol’s Magnatec Stop-Start Index says that Jakarta’s drivers suffer some 33,240 stop-starts/year, equivalent to 27.22% of their total travel time being stationary.
  • New tunnel Acapulco Bay in Mexico
    May 25, 2016
    Acapulco is to benefit from a new tunnel route to cut congestion. A new road tunnel close to Acapulco Bay will help cut journey times for drivers in this part of Mexico. Both tourists and locals in Acapulco Bay currently experience long journey times at present, with a key problem being congestion on the 12km route from Juan N Alvarez International Airport to the Acapulco Bay beaches. During peak traffic times the journey along the scenic, winding road around the tip of the Cumbres de Llano Largo Mountain t
  • Importance of road/tunnel drainage systems
    April 10, 2012
    A variety of systems are available for quickly and efficiently removing water from roads as Patrick Smith reports The presence of water in a highway layer reduces the bearing capacity of the road, and in doing so it also reduces the structure's lifetime. Indeed, the recent extremely cold winter in many parts of Europe has shown that in colder climates there is a risk of frost damage when water is present resulting in costly potholes, so drainage systems performing properly are important in road design.