SUNGAI BULOH: Heavy vehicles carrying loads exceeding the permissible laden weight are the main cause of road damage, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi says.
He said the Works Ministry and Transport Ministry, through a special committee on the issue of overloading, are currently discussing ways to overcome the problem.
"Heavy vehicles are a clear cause of road damage...that is why there is a load limit, but there are still those who violate the rules.”
“The secretaries-general and officers from both ministries are looking at how to deal with this issue," he told reporters after conducting Hari Raya exodus traffic monitoring at the Sungai Buloh Overhead Bridge Restaurant (Northbound) here Friday (March 28).
He said this in response to media reports that heavy vehicles carrying loads exceeding 10% of their permissible laden weight can cause the lifespan of roads to decrease by up to 50%.
Meanwhile, Nanta said the level of preparedness of various agencies to deal with the increase in vehicles on all major highways in conjunction with Hari Raya, which is expected to be celebrated next Monday, was ideal.
During the monitoring, Nanta also received a briefing from Malaysian Highway Authority director-general Datuk Sazali Harun and PLUS Malaysia Bhd chief operating officer Datuk Zakaria Ahmad Zabidi. They also took time to present Raya goodies to road users stopping at the rest area.
The government has announced a 50% Hari Raya toll discount from 12.00am to 11.59 pm Saturday, with an estimated RM19.69mil being paid back as compensation to the toll concessionaires involved.
The high outbound traffic movement from the capital to the north, south and east coast of Peninsular Malaysia began Thursday and is expected to last until Sunday, while the return movement is expected on April 4 to 6.
The highway authority expects an increase in traffic volume to 2.77 million vehicles per day using major highways during the festive period, with 2.1 million on highways under PLUS, the KL-Karak Expressway (216,000), the West Coast Expressway (176,000), the East Coast Expressway 1 (LPT1) (156,000) and LPT2 (70,000).
In a statement, the authority also said that Alexander reaffirmed the government's commitment to ensuring that concessionaires carry out their responsibilities and obligations towards maintenance so that services and facilities on the highway are in the best condition.
It said that patrol and emergency response teams involving agencies such as the police, fire brigade, Road Transport Department and Rela have been asked to ensure a quick response time to any incident on the highway by providing immediate assistance.
Among the measures taken by the highway concessionaires to deal with the increase in traffic in conjunction with this festive season are issuing travel time advisory, taking traffic dispersal initiatives with the activation of smart lanes at 28 locations on the North-South Highway and managing accidents or contingencies.
"There are also an addition of 66 more comfortable cabin-type portable toilets and additional temporary parking, as well as the implementation of multi-transactional lane for toll collection.
"The minister also called on motorcyclists to always be focused when riding and be aware of the activation of smart lanes in identified areas and to stop for shelter at the motorcycle shelters that have been provided when the weather is bad," the statement said. - Bernama
