ISKANDAR PUTERI: The Pasir Gudang Highway, once listed as the second worst road in Malaysia, has been removed from the list following continuous upgrading and improvement works, the Johor state assembly heard.
State works, transportation, infrastructure and communications committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said the highway is no longer among the country’s top 10 most problematic roads after sustained repair efforts.
"When we first took over monitoring of the Pasir Gudang Highway a few years ago, it was ranked the second worst road in Malaysia. I am glad to share that it has now been removed from the list," he told the state assembly sitting at Kota Iskandar on Thursday (Nov 20).
He said the state government will now focus on monitoring overloaded heavy vehicles, which contribute significantly to road damage due to the high volume of industrial traffic. Plans are in place to shift these vehicles and cargo movement to a rail-based system in the future to reduce road damage.
Responding to a supplementary question from Baharudin Mohamed Taib (Barisan - Permas) on the upgrading project timeline, Mohamad Fazli said frequent streetlight failures along the highway remain an issue. He noted he had inspected the site seven times.
The highway, a 30.3km federal route (FT17), falls under the Public Works Department (PWD) for road maintenance, with streetlight upkeep split between PWD and the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB).
From BHP Perling to the Perling Interchange, a 1.5km stretch managed by PWD, 52 streetlight poles are currently functioning. From the Perling interchange to the Bandar Seri Alam/Taman Rinting interchange—a 23.5km stretch under MBJB—there are 1,308 streetlight poles, with 167 reported faulty.
To ensure proper lighting, MBJB has appointed an annual maintenance contractor starting next year and is carrying out underground cable and component repairs, estimated at RM1mil, with works expected to be completed by Dec 15.
To reduce future failures, MBJB will replace all 1,308 existing streetlights with smart LED units at an estimated cost of RM6mil.
