Repairs, involving about RM6mil, will be conducted at six locations along the Pasir Gudang Highway, which is used by an estimated 95,000 vehicles daily. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
ALMOST 400 federal and state roads in Johor have been reported as damaged.
Johor works, transportation and infrastructure committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said these include 166 federal roads that had been damaged either by flooding or heavy usage.
“We have received an allocation from Works Ministry to repair 145 federal roads and the work began in March.
“As for state roads, 232 locations were identified as needing repairs and from the total, 73 have been scheduled for phase one upgrades.”
He said the repairs would be conducted in three phases.
Federal roads scheduled for repairs include FT1 (Johor Baru-Seremban) involving 35 locations at a cost of RM26mil; FT3 (Johor Baru-Endau) covering 41 locations at RM37mil and FT5 (Johor Baru-Lukut) involving 49 locations at a cost of RM33mil.
Mohamad Fazli said he had discussed with Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi about having a state agency to keep the public informed of current and upcoming roadworks in the state.
“Whenever I update my social media about roadworks, the people always ask when the roads in areas such as Mersing, Segamat and Pontian will be fixed.
“Hopefully by having one channel focused on disseminating such information, the public can better anticipate upcoming road repairs,” he added.
Regarding the Pasir Gudang Highway, which is used by an estimated 95,000 vehicles daily, Mohamad Fazli said repairs would be conducted at six locations at a cost of about RM6mil this year.
“The state JKR (Public Works Department) is in constant contact with the federal level to ensure that the allocations are disbursed and used for the projects systematically,” he said.
Onn Hafiz had expressed disappointment over the state of roads in Pasir Gudang and Senai during his visit on May 4.
He said not many improvements had been made to the roads since his last visit.
“I have asked JKR and the contractors involved to take immediate action for the safety and comfort of the people, as well as to cut down traffic congestion along the Pasir Gudang Highway and Senai,” said Onn Hafiz.
“This includes repairing the road from Pasir Gudang and Senai towards Johor Baru.
“The Jalan Besar, Pasir Gudang flyover project will also be sped up,” he said in a Facebook post.
Onn Hafiz also said phase two of the Pasir Gudang Highway expansion project (from four lanes to six lanes) would kick off soon from the Bandar Seri Alam-Taman Rinting intersection to Pasir Gudang.
He added that the construction of Jalan Cempedak 2 in Taman Kota Masai to Jalan Nikel, Zon 12C in Pasir Gudang would begin in June. ― By YEE XIANG YUN
