Traffic policemen controlling traffic following the incident. — Photos courtesy of LIM SOON HAI
THE Federal Government has been urged to immediately address the poor condition of Federal Route 5 (FT05 or Skudai-Pontian Highway) stretching from Taman Sri Skudai to Taman Teratai.
Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP) Skudai Baru Zone councillor Lim Soon Hai said complaints road users had made to MBIP included potholes and uneven road surfaces.
Lim says the work of contractors to resurface the road over the years is inadequate.“The stretch is under the purview of Public Works Department (JKR), but the majority of complainants think it is our (MBIP) duty to solve the problems,” Lim said when met after the city council’s full board meeting.
Nevertheless, he said, all complaints were forwarded to Johor JKR which would report to their headquarters in Kuala Lumpur for further action.
Lim said the work of contractors appointed to resurface the road over the years was inadequate as potholes and uneven road surfaces reappeared after several months, a problem that had persisted since 2014.
In some cases, motorcyclists fell after hitting potholes, especially during rain when the depressions were covered by water, he said, adding that there had been no fatalities so far.
Lim said the stretch of road was important as it served residents from Taman Sri Pulai, Taman Universiti, Taman Pulai Utama, Taman Pulai Perdana I and II and Taman Teratai.
“Traffic volume is high, with about 10,000 people using the stretch daily, including students from 10 schools within the housing estates,” he said.
He added that the stretch was busy as early as 4am with motorcyclists living in the housing estates commuting to Singapore for work daily.
Lim said MBIP had rectified the poor condition of Taman Impian Emas flyover as it had entered an agreement with Johor JKR to undertake the project.
Work started in July 2023 and was completed in August.
“Some RM2.8mil was spent to improve the condition of the flyover but the same could not be done for the FT05 stretch.”
A rider was injured after his motorcycle hit a pothole along the Taman Sri Skudai-Taman Teratai stretch in December 2023.
Lim said apart from potholes and uneven road surfaces, there were also faulty street lights that could pose a risk to road users.
He also suggested the Federal Government consider building a 7km-long elevated highway to ease congestion along the Taman Sri Skudai-Taman Teratai stretch.
“If we can have elevated highways in the Klang Valley, we can also have them in Johor Baru,” said Lim.
