The Badung Regency Government, which oversees tourism destinations such as Uluwatu and Canggu, has announced its commitment to developing new roads in the region as quickly as possible.
Traffic congestion in Bali has become as synonymous with the island as sun, sea, and sand, but leaders want all that to change.
The Badung Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD) is calling on the Badung Regency Government (Pemkab) to immediately release the resources necessary for the construction of a series of new roads.
The DPRD has shared its assessment that the traffic congestion problem in the region needs to be solved quickly since the regency’s original income (PAD) is mostly sourced from tourism.
Senator Made Ponda Wirawan told reporters on Monday, “The government is obliged to be present to provide a sense of security and comfort for tourists by building new roads to break through traffic jams.” He referenced the new West Gatot Subroto Road that is set to help alleviate traffic entering the resort area of Canggu, and help traffic flow more easily towards top cultural landmarks like Tanah Lot Temple.
During the last major updates about the project published back in February 2025, teams were in the designing stage and working on land acquisition. Projections set by the team behind the project showed that the road could be operational as early as 2027.
The West Gatot Subroto Road, as well as a series of other road infrastructure developments, were proposed by Bali Governor Wayan Koster in the weeks following his inauguration into his second term in office.
He gave his nod of approval 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. 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.
Bali Senapar Wayan Puspa Negara said at this week’s DPRD meeting, “We hope to think about the time today to build a flyover.”
Originally from Legain, Senator Negara has seen the surge in the amount of pressure put on the region’s road network with his own eyes. He, like many other leaders, is all too aware of how traffic congestion is not only impacting the quality of tourist visits but also the livelihoods and quality of life of local people.
Senator Negara shared, “Before the high-value infrastructure is built, we recommend that traffic engineering be carried out immediately and tested in severely congested areas. Such as the road from Kerobokan, Canggu, Seseh, or Legian, Jalan Uluwatu-GWK, and officers are present in the field consistently.”
The Regent of Badung, Wayan Adi Arnawa, responded that he had heard and received all the feedback and suggestions from local elected leaders. He told the meeting that work will continue to develop these new road networks to help improve tourism and local infrastructure for Balinese people.
Regent Arnawa concluded that, according to our vision, our strategic issues in the infrastructure sector include several other sectors. For example, the problem of garbage handling and clean water is also encouraging how to grow a new economy in the area that we will indeed encourage.”
It is not only in Badung Regency where traffic jams are impacting daily life and tourists’ vacations, but also in Gianyar Regency. The Gianyar Regency Government has announced a new strategy this week to reduce traffic congestion in central Ubud.
The Regent of Gianyar, I Made Mahayastra, confirmed that drastic action will be taken to address traffic congestion at the Arjuna Statue intersection, which is not only caused by traffic moving through Ubud, but also to the Tegalalang Rice Terraces and Mas Village.
He revealed that the Gianyar Regency Government will widen the road on Ambengan Street, Peliatan Village, which will offer alternative access to Tampaksiring. The road is planned to be widened by 3-4 meters, which will require the demolition of a number of buildings, including Bale Banjar Ambengan.
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