KOTA KINABALU: Road concessionaires cannot be fully blamed for poor road conditions in many parts of Sabah, says state Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya.
He said that while concessionaires mostly carry out maintenance works as required, many of the roads are just too old.
“The roads that were recently repaired to welcome the outgoing Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and his entourage during the Borneo road tour are actually ‘expired’ roads,” said Shahelmey when contacted.
He said these roads have already exceeded their lifespan, and require major upgrading works.
Shahelmey said this in response to allegations of poor workmanship on the stretches of roads used by the King during the road tour here in September last year, as potholes were seen in many areas of these ‘newly fixed’ roads just a few months later.
He said the heavy traffic along many of these roads in Sabah and constant rain resulted in the already damaged roads deteriorating further.
“Even with repairs conducted to fix the potholes, the problem will recur due to the above said reasons,” he said.
Shahelmey said the state Works Department is teaming up with concessionaires in maintaining roads in Sabah and in ensuring that the conditions are safe for road users, while waiting for the Pan Borneo project to start and be completed.
Issues of Sabah’s terrible conditions were highlighted once again after a garbage truck driver died while allegedly trying to avoid hitting a huge hole in Kinabatangan on Saturday (Jan 13).
Mohamad Izuan Mambasang, 39, succumbed to his injuries following the 11am accident at Jalan Kampung Jaya Baru near SK Sentosa Jaya.
Immediate repairs were carried out on the stretch of road after this incident.
