KUALA LUMPUR: Users of the newly opened Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) are reminded not to stop at the road shoulder except for emergencies.
Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas) group chief executive officer Datuk Mohammad Azlan Abdullah said Prolintas through its subsidiary Projek Lintasan Sungai Besi-Ulu Klang Sdn Bhd was aware that some highway users were overly excited and hence stop on the emergency lane to take snapshots of the scenic view at several locations of the the expressway.
"Safety aspects have always been the priority of Prolintas, we are very pleased with the response from users. However, we hope that everyone can take highway safety seriously to avoid any unwanted incidents," he said in a statement on Monday (Sept 19).
He said several hotspots along the highway alignment have been identified by SUKE Highway operations division to be points of interest for users and safety cones have been placed at those locations to prevent users from stopping without an emergency reason.
He added that Prolintas auxiliary police or ‘peronda SUKE’ was located at the hotspots to make patrolling rounds more often and on duty for 24 hours.
Mohammad Azlan said ‘NO STOPPING UNLESS EMERGENCY’ signage would be installed in the identified areas as soon as possible and the same message would be displayed on the variable-message sign (VMS) along the expressway to alert users.
"The operations division of SUKE Highway will ensure an optimal level of highway maintenance and continue to work with the local authorities, Road Transport Department and Police to ensure smooth traffic flow.
"Every kilometre along the alignment of the SUKE is equipped with 40 units of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in both directions. The operations division constantly monitors traffic movements and sends signals to ‘peronda SUKE’ to go to the location in case of emergencies or anomalies detected,” he said.
Mohammad Azlan said rest and service area would be built near the Tasik Tambahan Interchange in the future for highway users to comfortably and safely enjoy the panoramic view of Kuala Lumpur.
The highway recorded its first accident on Sunday (Sept 18), involving a motorcyclist and a car whose driver had stopped on the emergency lane to snap pictures of the scenic surroundings.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Azlan said nearly 100,000 vehicles had been recorded passing through the SUKE phase 1 in the first 24 hours after being opened to motorists beginning at noon of Sept 16 to Sept 17.
Highway users started forming a queue as early as 11.30am on Friday (Sept 16) at every entrance of SUKE, within the 16.6 kilometres alignment, starting from the Cheras-Kajang Interchange to the Bukit Antarabangsa Interchange.
The opening of SUKE phase 1 was announced by Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof with a one-month toll free ride which involves two toll plazas namely the Bukit Teratai Toll Plaza and the Ampang Toll Plaza as well as 11 interchanges. - Bernama
