Jalan M.H. Thamrin Explained

Jalan M.H. Thamrin
Other Name:Jalan Thamrin
Former Names:Djalan M.H. Thamrin
Namesake:Mohammad Husni Thamrin
Owner:Government of Special Region of Jakarta
Maint:Office of Public Works (Dinas Pekerjaan Umum) of Special Region of Jakarta
Length Km:2.4
Location:Central Jakarta
Metro:,
Direction A:South
Terminus A:West Flood Canal bridge
Direction B:North
Terminus B:Bank Indonesia roundabout
Junction:Jl. Budi Kemuliaan-Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, Jl. Kebon Sirih, Jl. KH. Wahid Hasyim, Bundaran HI roundabout
Construction Start Date:1949
Completion Date:1953
Inauguration Date:January 1951

Jalan M.H. Thamrin or Jalan Thamrin (M.H. Thamrin Road or Thamrin Road) is a major thoroughfare in Jakarta, Indonesia. The road is located at the center of Jakarta, running from the north end of Jalan Jenderal Sudirman at West Flood Canal at the south end to the roundabout near Arjuna Wijaya Statue Jakarta at the north end. Developed in the 1950s, the road was a landmark of post-colonial Indonesia and continues to have a prominent importance in Jakarta.

Description

Thamrin Road is classified as a secondary arterial road in Jakarta.

The road passes through five urban administrative villages:

Thamrin Road is closed to traffic every Sunday from 6:00 until 11:00 as part of Jakarta Car Free Days campaign. The Thamrin road is one of the Odd–even Traffic Restriction Scheme implementation zones (Monday to Friday, 06:00-10:00 and 16:00-21:00)[1]

History

Before Thamrin Road

The road that would become Thamrin Road first appear around late 1910s-1920s as a small lane running from Koningsplein West (now Medan Merdeka Barat) to Kebon Sirih. This lane was known as Gang Timboel. Prominent landmark near this small lane was a 19th-century Armenian Church for the Armenian community of Batavia.[2] The church has been demolished. The former location of the Armenian Church is the green within the complex of Bank Indonesia.

1950s Kebayoran Baru

The development of the suburb Kebayoran in 1949 raised the need to link the suburb with the city center of Jakarta, and thus work on a new "highway" began in the same year. The northern half of this new highway received the name Jalan M.H. Thamrin by January 1951, after Indonesian National Hero Mohammad Husni Thamrin. To avoid the occupation of the newly opened lands by illegal squatters - a major problem at the time - the government sold these lands cheaply to those who committed to build on it within three to six months. Despite this, time extensions had to be granted because buyers could not arrange finance or procure building materials.

Among the early projects situated in Thamrin Road were Sarinah Department Store, Bank Dagang Negara building (now Wisma Mandiri), Ministry of Religion building, Wisma Nusantara, Hotel Indonesia and the prominent Bundaran Hotel Indonesia. Thamrin Road was largely completed by 1953.

1962 Asian Games expansion

With the arrival of the 1962 Asian Games, President Sukarno imagined the VIP visitors for the Asian Games arriving at Kemayoran Airport, drove along Thamrin Road, be greeted by the Welcome Monument and stayed at Hotel Indonesia. For the Games itself, the same VIP visitors would be driven along Sudirman Road over the Semanggi cloverleaf bridge into the newly-opened Gelora Bung Karno sports complex where the competitions would take place. For the purpose of the game, both Thamrin and Sudirman Road were widened in the early 1960s. A regulation was also established which requires buildings along Thamrin Road to be minimum five-stories-high. This was difficult to achieve due to lack of funding and commercial building expertise at that time, and the fact that there were already several two-story government buildings along Thamrin Road.

In the beginning of 1970s, Thamrin Road was already a major thoroughfare of Jakarta as envisaged by Sukarno. Buildings reached a minimum height of five stories e.g. ICA building (later the United Nations), Hotel Asoka, the Australian Embassy, and the state-owned developer Pembangunan Perumahan. Sudirman Road was still relatively devoid of development during the early 1970s compare with Thamrin Road, with the exception of the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex.

Several parades were enacted along the major thoroughfare, including Jakarta's anniversary parade and Independence Day parade.

TransJakarta

Up until the 2000s, Thamrin Road consisted of four carriageways consisting of local-express lanes, 3 lanes for the express lane and 2 lanes for the local lane. With the introduction of TransJakarta BRT in 2004, one of the lane of the express lanes was converted into a dedicated lane for the BRT. Eventually, Thamrin Road was made a dual carriageway by removing the separator of the local and express lanes.

Motorcycle

The Jakarta administration in December 2014 introduced a ban on motorcycles from using Jalan Thamrin and the adjoining Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat.[3]

The ban was lifted by governor Anies Baswedan in 2018.

Major buildings along the MH Thamrin Road

Sorted from North to South!West!East
Bank IndonesiaMinistry of Energy and Mineral Resources
Indosurya Finance Center
Bangkok Bank
Thamrin Clock Tower (Formerly located at the middle of the intersection with the Kebon Sirih Street. The Clock Tower is now temporarily moved to the National Monument complex for the construction of the second phase of the North-South Line of the Jakarta MRT)[4]
Ministry of Religious AffairsWisma Mandiri (Branch office of Bank Mandiri and Bank Syariah Indonesia)
Thamrin 10
Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investments Affairs, National Research and Innovation Agency, and the National Standardization Agency
Menara Thamrin (Head office of Lintasarta, Embassy of Argentina)Sari Pacific Hotel
Gedung JayaMenara Cakrawala (Skyline Building)
Intersection with the Kyai Haji Wahid Hasyim Street
General Election Supervisory AgencySarinah Building
Menara Topas (Embassy of East Timor)
Lippo Thamrin Embassy of France
BBC (BBC News and BBC World Service)Sinar Mas Land Plaza
Indonesia-1 TowerEmpty (Previously there was Wisma Kosgoro, but it was demolished due to a massive fire in 2015)[5]
Embassy of JapanPertamina Lubricants
Plaza Indonesia, The Plaza, The Keraton, and Grand Hyatt Hotel JakartaPlaza Bank Index
Pullman Hotel Jakarta
Wisma Nusantara
Hotel Indonesia Roundabout (Selamat Datang Monument)
Hotel Indonesia Kempinsiki, BCA Tower, and Grand IndonesiaDeutsche Bank (Embassy of Belgium)
Mandarin Oriental Jakarta
Embassy of Germany
Thamrin Nine Complex, UOB Plaza, & The Autograph TowerThe City Tower (Embassy of Chile)
Dukuh Atas BNI MRT station and BNI City railway station (Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link)Sudirman railway station (KRL Commuterline)

Intersections

There are four intersections:

Transportation

Jalan M.H. Thamrin is currently served by and stations of Jakarta MRT. Sudirman station of KRL Commuterline and BNI City station of Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link are located at the south end of the road as a part of Dukuh Atas TOD.

Bus routes

TransJakarta

There are four stops for the TransJakarta busway along Jalan M.H. Thamrin, mainly serving for Route 1, 6A, and 6B. They are:

The Transjakarta routes that serves the M.H. Thamrin Road are:

Other buses

Apart from Transjakarta, here are the list of public transportation routes that serve the M.H. Thamrin Road:

Train lines

Jakarta MRT

The M.H. Thamrin Road is also served by the North–South Line of the Jakarta MRT There are two stations:

KRL Commuterline

This road is also accessible with the Cikarang Loop Line of the KRL Commuterline There is one station:

Airport Railink

M.H. Thamrin Road is also served by the Soekarno–Hatta Airport Rail Link There is one station:

See also

Works cited

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Media . Kompas Cyber . 2022-06-26 . Jangan Lupa, Ganjil Genap Jakarta Berlaku di 25 Ruas Jalan Ini . 2022-10-17 . KOMPAS.com . id.
  2. Web site: De Armeniërs, een volk waar ik deels van afstam. . imexbo.nl . imexbo.nl . June 21, 2015 .
  3. News: Folmer. City Revised Motorcycle Ban Passing Regulation on Jalan Thamrin. 4 August 2017. Beritajakarta.id. 5 April 2015.
  4. Web site: Liputan6.com. 2021-04-29. Sejarah Menara Jam Thamrin yang Bakal Direlokasi karena Imbas Pembangunan MRT. liputan6.com. id. 2022-06-28.
  5. Web site: Rahadian. Lalu. Kebakaran Wisma Kosgoro Pecahkan Rekor Asia. nasional. id-ID. 2022-06-28.