Jln Maarof-Jln Semantan highway to open July 1

Workers adding the finishing touches to the new elevated highway from Jalan Maarof to Jalan Semantan.

KUALA Lumpur and Petaling Jaya residents who were counting down to the May opening of the new elevated highway from Jalan Maarof to Jalan Semantan in Kuala Lumpur, will now have to wait a little longer.

In a statement to StarMetro, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) said only two of the three lanes of the highway will be open on July 1.

The third lane will only be open to traffic in December.

The 1.34km highway is part of an alternative route for motorists coming from Petaling Jaya heading to the capital city.

There will be an exit from the flyover heading to Jalan Maarof in Bangsar on this highway.

Currently, motorists from Petaling Jaya need to make a U-turn under the highway to get to Jalan Maarof.

Once the highway is open, the U-turn will be removed.

StarMetro’s March 22 report about the flyover project.

In March, Sprint Highway had said that the two lanes would be opened in May to alleviate traffic congestion in the area.

DBKL, in its media statement, added that work on the final lane would be completed by November and opened in December.

StarMetro has learnt from reliable sources that the project contractor was not able to make the May deadline due to the authorities restrictions against lane closure earlier, which had impacted critical bridge works.

The multi-million ringgit project started in December 2017.

It was launched by then Federal Territories minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor on March 2018.

It was estimated to cost about RM211mil, and the construction cost was to be shared by DBKL, Pavilion and UKAS (Public-Private Partnership Unit).

It was expected to be completed by June 2020 but the completion date kept getting pushed back.

Bangsar resident Datuk M. Ali said the authorities needed to be more transparent with information on the project and not keep the stakeholders guessing.

“If there is going to be a delay, tell us. Keeping people guessing and waiting is unacceptable and unprofessional,” he said.

Damansara Heights resident Philip Chen said the long delays and never-ending congestion had taken a toll on his family.

“We are all exhausted from all the noise, dust and pollution from cars.

“I want to see it (construction) completed soon as possible,” he said.