Many Damaged Roads in Lampung, Drivers' Lives at Stake

BANDAR LAMPUNG, KOMPAS – Three weeks before Eid, the national roads in Lampung, which will be traversed by travelers, still suffer from significant damage. Although repairs have been made in several locations, many gaping potholes remain on the highways, posing a danger to drivers' safety.

Based on Kompas's investigation on Sunday (9/3/2025) from Bandar Lampung to Radin Inten II Airport, South Lampung Regency, as far as 20 kilometers, there are still dozens of holes on the Trans-Sumatra Highway. The holes have a diameter of 10-50 centimeters (cm) and a depth of 10-30 cm.

In several locations, banners were seen announcing a request for road users to exercise caution due to numerous potholes and uneven road surfaces. Such banners were installed on poles along the road medians.

Although several damaged road sections have been repaired by patching, there are still potholes that have only been filled with sand or soil. Some residents have also taken the initiative to place used tires in large gaping holes on the road surface.

The damage is evident, among other places, on the Trans-Sumatra Road in Natar Village, Natar Subdistrict, South Lampung. Bagus (22), a local resident, stated that potholes in the area have existed since December 2024. Over the past three months, he mentioned that dozens of motorcyclists have fallen due to slipping on the pothole-ridden road.

Bagus, who happened to work at a tire repair shop, took the initiative to place used tires in the hole. "These tires serve as markers because the hole is often not visible, especially after heavy rain when it's covered by puddles. Many riders have already fallen here," said Bagus while pointing to the location of the pothole.

According to him, no officials have inspected or repaired the damaged road. Local residents even took the initiative to help repair the damaged road using cement. "It used to be worse here. This has been partially covered," he said.

Puji Rahayu (30), a resident of Natar Subdistrict, also complained about the severely damaged road conditions. "I already know by heart where the potholes are, so I can avoid them. But for people who rarely pass through, it must be difficult to avoid," said the woman who works daily in Bandar Lampung.

In Pringsewu Regency, Lampung, the severely damaged road conditions forced the community to repair the road independently. In the past few days, residents who are members of the United Pringsewu Youth Alliance have opened donations and repaired the potholed road.

Erika Widiastuti, a Pringsewu resident who is a member of the United Pringsewu Youth Alliance, said that the movement started from public concern over the many accidents caused by damaged road conditions. According to her, the action was also carried out as a response to residents' disappointment with the slow government efforts to repair damaged roads.

Based on data collected from the police, during the period of January-February 2025, there were 26 cases of traffic accidents handled by the Traffic Unit of the Pringsewu Police. Of that number, 10 victims died, three were seriously injured, and 30 others suffered minor injuries.

Concerned about the condition, the youth then opened a donation and managed to collect funds of around Rp 7 million. The community was also moved to donate cement and lend transport vehicles for road repairs that have been carried out since five days ago.

"The community does not want to remain silent because the number of victims continues to increase. This is a form of our concern. The community just wants a decent road," said Erika.

According to Erika, the repair was done by patching the potholes using split stone, sand, and cement. Residents realized that the road repairs might not be up to standard. Therefore, the community really hopes that the government will immediately repair the damaged road.

When confirmed, Head of the Lampung National Road Implementation Center (BPJN) Susan Novelia appreciated the concern of Pringsewu residents who took the initiative to repair the road. She said that currently BPJN has begun repairing the road in preparation for the Lebaran homecoming route along the entire national road in Lampung, including on the West Sumatra Cross-Island Road in Pringsewu.

"We are trying to carry out road repair activities as much as possible through handling to maintain the road's functionality and the target of zero potholes to deal with the homecoming route with the available budget," said Susan through a written interview.

According to BPJN Lampung data, the total length of national roads in Lampung reaches 1,298 kilometers. Based on a survey in the second semester of 2024, the percentage of national road stability in Lampung reached 93.75 percent. Meanwhile, 6.25 percent of roads are in an unstable condition.

The lowest percentage of road stability conditions is on the central crossroad at 88.71 percent. The western crossroad is 93.81 percent and the eastern crossroad is 97.75 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of stability on the connecting crossroad is 93.63 percent and the non-crossroad is 99.87 percent.

Susan admitted that national road repairs in Lampung this year were slower than in previous years. This happened because BPJN Lampung had just completed a series of administrative processes for unblocking the budget implementation list (DIPA) for the 2025 fiscal year.

In addition, the budget for road and bridge repairs was also affected by the budget efficiency policy so that the amount was greatly reduced from the initial ceiling set at IDR 400 billion.

"The 2025 Lampung BPJN budget after the budget efficiency process amounts to around IDR 82.6 billion, which is used for routine maintenance activities for 1,298 kilometers of roads throughout the national roads of Lampung Province," said Susan.

Separately, Lecturer of Civil Engineering Study Program of Sumatera Institute of Technology Muhammad Abi Berkah Nadi said, budget efficiency policy should not eliminate important budget, especially for road repair. Moreover, approaching the Lebaran homecoming period, road infrastructure readiness is very crucial because the mobility of residents will increase rapidly.

Currently, several roads in Lampung have experienced minor to major damage. Moreover, during the last two months, heavy rain has often poured so that road damage can be even worse.

The community does not want to remain silent because the victims continue to increase. This is a form of our concern. The community only wants a decent road

"This damage must be repaired immediately. Do not let the budget affected by the efficiency disrupt the road repair process ahead of the Eid homecoming. The government must have a special emergency fund allocated to accelerate the road repair process," said Abi who is also the Secretary of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) Lampung.

According to him, the road repairs carried out independently by the community in Pringsewu should be an alarm so that the government can move faster. The reason is, there are many greater risks that drivers will face if the road conditions are not ready to be crossed during homecoming, namely traffic jams to accidents that can kill people.