THE opening of the newly constructed Jalan Kong Yit Khim, which cuts travelling time between Sibujaya and Sibu Airport, is causing serious traffic congestion near the Jalan Salim intersection.
Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Dudong chief Wong Ching Yong urged the government to address this issue by widening Jalan Salim from one lane to two.
“We hope the section of the road from Farley supermarket to the traffic light intersection of Jalan Kong Yit Khim will be widened.
“It would be even better if the authorities build a flyover near Jalan Salim,” said Wong at the sidelines of SUPP Dudong and SUPP Sibujaya Chinese New Year open house.
The 6.75km Jalan Sibujaya-Jalan Kong Yit Khim has reduced travelling time from the airport to the town centre by 20 minutes.
This road also provides an alternative and much faster route between Sibujaya township with Sibu town.
However, the opening of the road has resulted in traffic jams as it has become the preferred route for motorists in Sibujaya.
“The traffic jam is quite serious along Jalan Salim near Farley area to Jalan Kong Yit Khim,” said Wong who is also Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) deputy chairman.
“The congestion not only affects local residents but also impacts travellers heading to the airport and nearby areas.”
SRDC chairman Sempurai Petrus Ngelai called for the authorities to address the problem.
“We hope the road can be improved. While it is now shorter to travel to the airport, a bottleneck has been created.
“I hope the state government will consider either widening the road or building a flyover,” said Sempurai.
It was previously reported that the new road cost about RM104.4mil to build.
