In early 2025, it was revealed that Bali will be constructing a new stretch of highway that will help alleviate much of the traffic congestion around the busy tourism resort of Canggu.
It has now been confirmed that a 375m stretch of the new West Gatsu Street will be built as an underpass.
Bali’s Regent of Badung, Wayan Adi Arnawa, has issued updates regarding the new West Gatsu Street, which is set to change traffic flow in the resort of Canggu completely.
While news of a new road is not a big deal for most tourists visiting most tourism resorts around the world, in Bali, this is a game-changing development.
Expats, digital nomads, and regularly returning tourists to Bali know intimately how impactful the island’s traffic congestion issues are on daily life.
The development of the new West Gatsu Street is set to help dramatically reduce traffic congestion between central Canggu and Tanah Lot in Tabanan Regency.
In a press conference also attended by the Deputy Regent of Badung Bagus Alit Sucipta and the Regional Secretary of Badung IB Surya Suamba, Regent Arnawa explained “From Jalan Gatot Subroto (Gatsu) heading west again, it will enter under people’s houses. There will likely be a tunnel.”
He retreats that the new 6km road is anticipated to reduce congestion in the Mangupura City area such as Kapal, Abianbase, Lukluk, Sempidi, and Dalung.
This is because the new West Gatsu-Canggu Road section will link directly to the Mengwi Terminal area in Mengwitani Village in Mengwi, which is the root of much of the current traffic bottleneck.
Regent Arnawa told reporters that part of the road section will be built underground to avoid existing villages and infrastructure.
Current plans show that approximately 375 meters of the West Gatsu-Canggu road section will pass through an underground tunnel 15 meters deep from the ground surface. He added “There is already a regulation that if the government builds below 15 meters underground, no compensation is required.”
The latest updates from the Badung Regency Government show that in 2025, the remaining planning and feasibility study stages for the West Gatsu Canggu Road project will be completed. Then, in 2026, the land acquisition process will be carried out.
The West Gatsu Canggu Road is one of the many road infrastructure plans that Regent Arnawa will oversee until 2030.
The West Gatsu Canggu Road is not the only major road development that is set to help resolve Bali’s major traffic congestion issues in top tourism resorts.
In March 2025, the Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, issued fresh updates regarding the province’s biggest road infrastructure projects that will be completed in this current political term.
He gave the go-ahead for the Ahmad Yani Underpass and the Tohpati Underpass-Akasia Intersection towards Padanggalak Intersection.
The West Ring Road project will also help resolve major traffic congestion issues facing tourists entering the Bukit Peninsula from the Jimbaran resort area.
Speaking to reporters in March 2025, Regent Arnawa explained, “This project has started, and the land acquisition process has also been carried out. I have also coordinated with the technical team from the Badung PUPR Office to prepare a budget to complete this project.”
Adding “We ask all regional agencies, especially technical services, to immediately take concrete steps. Our main focus is to solve the problems of traffic jams, garbage, clean water, and floods so that the community can feel the impact in a real way.”
As these new road infrastructure projects get underway in Bali, tourists visiting the island are advised that congestion bottlenecks are an ever-present reality in the island’s busiest tourism hotspots.
Until these new projects are completed, tourists are advised to leave more than enough time to travel between resorts and attractions and to allow for more time than transportation apps and route planning maps suggest.
For example, many travel app suggest leaving 90-minutes to travel between central Canggu and central Uluwatu. However, in reality, it is advisable to allow up to 3-hours to travel between the two destinations, especially if driving at peak travel hours.
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