Officials Give Completion Date For Essential New Bali Tourist Road

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Construction work is underway in Bali’s popular resort of Canggu to build a new shortcut road that will help alleviate some of the ever-increasing traffic in the area.

The new Simpang Padonan Road, which is also being referred to as the Tibubeneng-Canggu-Dalung intersection, will help mitigate traffic congestion and there are hopes the project will be completed in the middle of the festive season. 

Traffic congestion along the Tibubeneng-Canggu Highway is intense. Videos circulate online every week of gridlocked traffic entering the resort of Canggu every day.

It’s safe to say that any tourists who have visited Canggu in the last few months have expertness or at the very least caught a glimpse of the traffic issue in the area.

Traffic congestion has been affecting the tour’s experience of the island and causing frustration for local people too. 

@littlebaboon POV: Its nearly impossible to explore Canggu by walking and get out alive 🤪 Ever experienced that on Bali? #canggutraffic #balitrafficjam #balitrafficchaos #balitravelguide #visitbali2023 #canggulife ♬ Original Sound – Unknown

Speaking to reporters this week, project supervisors Gusti Ngurah Danu and Ketut Antara, confirmed that the new shortcut can be completed quickly since there the road is only 334m.

The road is 8m wide, and construction includes sidewalks. Speaking on Friday 24th November, Antara said “Project progress is increasing. For yesterday, we are targeting 1.2% but in the field, it is already 2%.”

The project still has a long way to go but teams are confident that work will be completed on time. Backfilling soil and comparing the limestone is already completed.

Antara said “The work was carried out by PT Budi Aluh and Project Consultants from CV Dwi Duta Design. “According to the contract, the work period is 56 calendar days, completed on December 28th, 2023.”

@kiki.mcgrath.xo Canggu traffic is the real deal. Not for the faint hearted. #canggu #livingintheghetto #balicanggu🥰 #balilife #baliliving #balilivingguide #canggubeach ♬ Motor King – Remix – Dj Fan

With the project set for completion on the 28th of December, just in time for New Year’s Eve, only some of the huge influx of tourists arriving for the festive season will be able to benefit from the new road.

Travel data shared by the Indonesian government this week shows that over 102 million Indonesian people will be traveling over the Christmas holidays, with a considerable percentage heading to Bali.

This huge influx of tourists is in addition to the high increase in international arrivals who start flying in as of the 19th and 20th, ready for Christmas in Bali. 

@ranggaolga Canggu shortcut road. #canggubali #cangguguide #indonesia #trafficindonesia #shortcutroad ♬ gford._ gets no maidens – $avøry-$adisticpai

The new Simpang Padonan Road shortcut will help traffic flowing along the Tibubeneng-Canggu Highway but there are concerns that this new road alone won’t be sufficient in resolving Canggu’s congestion issues.

The new shortcut will help keep traffic flowing along the highway, but the impacts of this won’t stop traffic congestion closer to the beaches or along existing shortcuts.

Furthermore, the new Simpang Padonan Road comes with a new set of one-way traffic rules at the intersection that will take time to become the new normal. 

This could be an issue if previous changes in traffic flow are anything to go by. Earlier this year a concrete bollard was installed at one end of the Umalas-Berawa shortcut, also known as Gang Batu Sari.

The concrete bollard makes the shortcut impassable for cars but accessible for motorcycles. Since the concrete bollard was installed on only one side, cars still attempted to use the shortcut only to discover they had to reverse all the way back up the single-track lane, causing more congestion and frustration on the roads. 

Nevertheless, any improvements to Canggu’s roads will be well-received by locals and tourists. The new road is just one of many notable road improvement projects that are underway in Bali at the moment and in the coming months. 

Big news broke this week regarding the Gilimanuk-Medewi Toll Road. The new toll road will connect the central-south of the island to the west.

Though not immediate of value to tourists, who mostly stay in the Badung Regency. The Gilimanuk-Medewi Toll Road is set to provide better connectivity to the west of Bali, in part to help make it easier for tourists to explore more of what the area has to offer. 

Although the first stone was laid last year, progress on the project has been slow. Due to funding issues, the project is now up for tender again, but officials hope that construction work can be picked up again in early 2024.