JOHOR BARU: The North-South Expressway (NSE) expansion project to increase the number of lanes from four to six between Senai Utara and Sedenak that will start at the end of this month will not disrupt traffic flow.
Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) chairman Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad said the two existing lanes in both directions would remain open to road users.
"The construction of the third lane may pose challenges, especially for heavy vehicles, as the road will become slightly narrower," he told reporters after the memorandum of understanding signing ceremony between Paragon Globe Berhad and UOB Malaysia here on Thursday (June 20).
He said LLM would issue the letter of acceptance to the successful contractor soon, with the first and second phases of the first package expected to take 36 months to complete for both directions.
Regarding the Senai Desaru Expressway expansion project, Hasni said the upgrade works were also expected to start at the end of this month.
"The duration of this project is 24 months. The highway, currently two lanes in both directions, will be expanded to four lanes. We will finalise the contractor appointment soon," said the former Johor mentri besar.
When tabling Budget 2024 in October last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the NSE expansion project from four to six lanes would be extended from Sedenak to Simpang Renggam, with a cost of RM931mil.
Currently, the six to eight-lane stretch on the NSE from Kuala Lumpur to the south ends in Melaka. – Bernama
