Safety first: Nanta crossing the road with students after the opening ceremony of a pedestrian crossing traffic light at SJKT Ladang Gadong in Kuala Langat. — KK SHAM/The Star
KUALA LANGAT: The Public Works Department has begun deploying the “Launching Nose” system to construct temporary bridges in states where infrastructure has been damaged by floods.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said that as of yesterday morning, 107 locations affected by floods had been identified.
This includes a bridge collapse in Kelantan, 49 sites experiencing flash floods, 35 other flood sites, 12 landslide occurrences, and five locations each for road collapses and sinkholes.
He added that natural disasters have also impacted 50 federal and 57 state roads in Perlis, Kedah, Perak, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu and Selangor.
“We have deployed the new RM21mil ‘Launching Nose’ system to the affected states to simplify Bailey bridge installation where needed,” he said after officiating a signalised pedestrian crossing at SJKT Ladang Gadong here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Nanta said the new pedestrian crossing at SJKT Ladang Gadong will improve safety for the school’s pupils and local community, demonstrating the ministry’s commitment to road safety.
The RM700,000 project is a collaboration between the Works Ministry and the World Health Organisation (WHO), under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety.
Nanta added that this cooperation also involves sharing accident data through the Road Accident Management System and running road safety public awareness campaigns on WHO’s social media platforms.
He also indicated that initiatives to enhance road safety infrastructure under the MyJalan programme are currently underway, with a particular emphasis on improving safety at accident-prone locations, often referred to as blackspots.
“We have fully utilised the allocation of RM80mil for 2025 to enhance the safety and comfort of motorists. This includes improvements at 90 high-risk accident areas and the installation of new street lighting at 257 accident-prone locations where poor visibility was a factor,” Nanta added.
