New Road In Top Bali Tourism Destination Could Help Improve Traffic Congestion

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Tourists who have been to Bali at least once before know all too intimately the island’s issues with traffic congestion.

Some areas are more severely affected than others, with the Bukit Peninsula, particularly around the Uluwatu area, being one of the most consistently congested areas on the island. 

Over the duration of the electoral term, major new road developments will be constructed in Bali.

The Badung Regency Government, who oversee tourism resort areas such as Uluwatu, Canggu, and Seminyak, is preparing strategic measures to address the increasing number of accidents occurring on Jalan Goa Gong in Jimbaran.

The Regent of Badung Wayan Adi Arnawa stated that the regional government had previously planned to elevate the road around the Goa Gong Temple. 

The proposed new road route would connect the South Housing Complex of Udayana University (Unud) with the GWK Cultural Park in Uluwatu. Regent Arnawa told reporters, “We are currently exploring options for Goa Gong; we already took corrective measures yesterday.”

“However, we apologize, but the caretakers of the Goa Gong Temple have some reservations about the elevated road in front of the Goa Gong Temple. With that in mind, we are considering building a road on the left that will cross the river, above it.”

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He confirmed that the current plan is to construct a road that will also provide a shortcut to the Goa Gong Temple, bypassing the consistently congested main Uluwatu Highway. Regent Arnawa noted, “We are also pushing for a road to be built to Goa Gong, so that people from Pecatu and Ungasan who want to go to Denpasar won’t have to go via Goa Gong.”

Regent Arnawa also confirmed that he has communicated with the GWK Cultural Park management team, who have expressed their support for the new road development program. He explained, “We’ve spoken with GWK, and GWK supports our program, and we’ll install it in 2026. After all, I will utilize GWK’s assets to build the access road.”

Regent Arnawa concluded,  “I’ve told GWK that if we make access public, they can use that road. After all, that access still belongs to GWK. But whatever it is, the important thing is that we have a solution. Especially how we address access to Gong Cave, which has been a problem for so long, with frequent accidents.”

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It will remain to be seen if the Badung Regency Government will be able to construct the new road by the end of 2026. Nevertheless, the local government has been clear that during this electoral term, major new road developments must be implemented in order to ensure that tourism destinations in the jurisdiction, like Canggu and Uluwatu, remain accessible for tourists. 

One of the most hotly anticipated road developments in Bali is the West Gatot Subroto Road, which is set to dramatically decrease traffic congestion between central Canggu and the Tanah Lot area.

In theory, the West Gatot Subroto Road will help reduce traffic congestion for tourists, local residents, and daily commuters, and help alleviate traffic on the Denpasar-Gilimanuk route, which is often dominated by commercial trucks. 

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Bali Governor Wayan Koster has called for work to begin on the West Gatot Subroto Road as well as the new Ahmad Yani Underpass and the Tohpati Underpass-Akasia Intersection towards Padanggalak Intersection in the Kuta area.

There are also plans to develop a flyover to help redirect traffic away from the narrow streets of many of Bali’s top tourism resort areas, like Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, and Canggu. 

However, none of these solutions will create change overnight; in fact, as new roads are built, traffic congestion may become worse before it gets better.

As a general rule of thumb, tourists should always leave above and beyond enough time to travel from place to place in Bali, especially when returning to the airport to fly out and when traveling at peak rush hour periods in the morning and evening.