ISKANDAR PUTERI: More than RM1.28bil has been allocated to carry out roads and highways upgrading projects to ease traffic congestion around Greater Johor Baru area in anticipation of Rapid Transit System Link (RTS), which will be operational in 2027.
Johor works, transportation, infrastructure and communication committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said RTS, which links Johor Baru and Singapore, would bring huge benefits to residents, workers and visitors crossing between two countries.
“Even though the benefits are clear, the issue of traffic congestion remained a major concern especially within Johor Baru city area and around Greater Johor Baru.
“Looking at such concern, a special committee , which is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, has been formed to discuss on traffic congestion and distribution issues,” he said during the state assembly meeting held at Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Kota Iskandar here on Monday (Nov 25).
Mohamad Fazli said this in his reply to Marina Ibrahim (PH-Skudai) who asked about the assurance from the government to ensure that traffic at city centre and Greater Johor Baru would not be a burden with the RTS.
He added that with the cooperation between state and federal agencies, a draft traffic distribution plan for Greater Johor Baru has been drawn up based on information obtained from various sources.
“This special committee has identified 77 congestion hotspot areas in the Greater Johor Baru and then provides a proposed plan for short, medium and long term solutions to overcome traffic congestion.
“In addition to traffic management and improving public transport lines such as buses as part of short and medium term solutions, there are several projects involving road widening and upgrades that will be completed by 2026 and 2027,” he said.
Mohamad Fazli added among the projects that would be completed before the operation of RTS were upgrading and building a new route on Gelang Patah road from the Gelang Patah CIQ complex intersection to the Tanjung Pelepas traffic light intersection with a cost of RM62.5mil.
He said the other projects were Pasir Gudang expressway upgrade from Bandar Seri Alam and Taman Rinting intersection to Pasir Gudang with a cost of RM78mil.
“Upgrades on the Senai-Desaru Expressway (SDE) from two lanes to four lanes with an allocation of RM160mil and the directional ramp construction at SDE intersection in Bandar Penawar with a cost of RM86.6mil.
“Some RM361.7mil has been allocated to build a multi-storey intersection at Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) along Johor Baru city centre and Stulang Laut.
“Construction for additional lanes along the North-South Expressway from Senai north to Sedenak with a cost of RM525mil, which is expected to complete by 2027,” he added.
Mohamad Fazli said several large scale projects and initiatives were also planned, including the development of public transport corridors, namely, north and northern (Skudai), western (Iskandar Puteri), eastern (Tebrau) and east-west corridor.
He added that in addition to the development of public transport corridors, projects involving infrastructure such as the construction of a new interchange, the construction of new roads and the widening of roads, have been compiled based on current development projections for Johor in general and Johor Bahru in particular.
“The state government assured that this matter will continue to be monitored and traffic connectivity around RTS and Greater Johor Baru will be improved.
“With these proactive measures, the state government is trying to ensure that the implementation of the RTS project can be fully utilised without adding a significant traffic burden to locals,” he added.
