The North Coast Road (Indonesian: Jalur Pantai Utara (Jalur Pantura)), is the name for the road, 1,430 km in length,[1] that connects Merak and Banyuwangi on the northern beach of Java, particularly between Jakarta and Surabaya.
The most part of Java north coast road was built during the reign of governor-general of the Dutch East Indies Herman Willem Daendels (1808–1811) and was originally known as the Great Post Road (Indonesian: Jalan Raya Pos Dutch: De Grote Postweg)[2]
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The Great Post Road was a military road which was built under the order of King Lodewijk Napoleon who ruled Holland at that time.[3] the road was intended to ease military support, e.g. transfer of soldiers, in order to defend Java from possible British invasion. It connects Anyer in western end and Panarukan in eastern end of Java. After Daendels rule, the eastern road was later extended to Banyuwangi. The Java Great Post Road consist the most parts of present Java North Coast Road. However the original post road is runs through Preanger (Priangan, West Java) highland, from Meester Cornelis (Jatinegara) went south to Buitenzorg (Bogor), and went east to Cianjur, Bandung, Sumedang, and Cirebon. The current north coast road runs through coastal northern West Java which built later after the construction of Daendels' post road. It connects Bekasi, Karawang, Pamanukan, and Cirebon.
Most of today national road network in Java was built during Dutch East Indies era. However during Suharto era around 1980s, the toll road network system was introduced within the whole Java transportation network. The Java toll network highway is continuously expanded, and today some of these toll roads formed Java north coast road.
The road originally ran from Anyer, present day Banten, but formerly West Java to Panarukan, East Java, but later was extended to Banyuwangi.[3] In its current form the North Coast Road extends through five provinces: Banten, DKI Jakarta, West Java, Central Java and East Java. The western end begins at the port of Merak, connecting with Bakauheni in Sumatra, the southern end of the Trans-Sumatran Highway. The eastern end begins at Ketapang, connecting with Gilimanuk in Bali. Sections of the North Coast Road are going to be part of the 13,177 km AH2 route of the Asian Highway Network route, which links Denpasar, Bali with Khosravi, Iran,[4] since some of the AH2 is still under construction. AH2 is a freeway which is limited only for vehicles having at least 4 tires. Beside of that, North Coast Road also comprises the National Highway which opens to any vehicles.
The road connects the largest cities in Java, including Jakarta, Cilegon, Tangerang, Bekasi, Cirebon, Tegal, Pekalongan, Semarang, Rembang, Tuban, Surabaya, Pasuruan, Probolinggo and Banyuwangi.[4]
Six toll roads connect:
This road is a major route for land transportation, being used by a range of 20,000 to 70,000 vehicles daily. However the state of the road varies in condition which can seriously affect traffic flow [5]
The North Coast Road is a major artery during the celebration of the Lebaran holiday, where transit is primarily east to west.
In Cikampek, there is a branch to Bandung (and cities of West Java in the southern part). In Tegal, there is a branch to Purwokerto (and the cities of Central Java in the southern part). In Semarang, there is a branch to east (Surabaya-Banyuwangi) and to the south (Solo-Madiun)
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