KUALA LUMPUR: The government has no plans to upgrade FT2 Federal Highway despite recording its most congested traffic service level based on 2024 data, the Dewan Negara was told on Monday (Dec 15).
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the decision was taken as the proposal to upgrade the 34.59km stretch of FT2 from here to Port Klang is no longer economically viable, due to the high land and asset acquisition costs, as well as its potential social impact.
"Based on 2024 traffic data, the level of service (LOS) on the FT2 Federal Highway at Census Station BR101 was recorded at 'LOS F', indicating heavy traffic flow, similar to FT28 of the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) at Census Station BR903," he said during an oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Negara.
He said this in his reply to a question from Senator Tiew Way Keng, who sought an update on the status of upgrades to existing highways and federal roads in Selangor.
Nanta said that for FT2, the government is instead considering proposals to construct a new highway to disperse traffic flow, as well as to provide alternative public transport through the Light Rail Transit 3 (LRT3) service from Shah Alam to Kuala Lumpur, which is expected to commence operations on Dec 31.
Commenting on the 37.58km FT28 MRR2 from Kepong to Sri Petaling, Nanta said the ministry had implemented the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Expressway (SUKE) project to help ease congestion along the route, but upgrading FT28 was no longer economically viable due to similar cost considerations and potential social impacts.
Meanwhile, he said the traffic service level on FT5 Jalan Klang-Sabak Bernam at the BR104 Census Station was recorded at 'LOS A', indicating that it is still able to accommodate existing traffic capacity, and therefore, there are no plans to upgrade the route.
Nanta added that the West Coast Expressway (WCE), which is expected to be fully completed in 2026, has the potential to serve as an alternative route to help reduce traffic congestion on FT5.
He also stressed that any proposal to construct new roads or upgrade existing federal roads must first be submitted by the state government based on its priority list, through the coordination process of the State Economic Planning Unit (Upen) and the relevant technical departments, before being considered by the ministry, subject to the allocation of development funds received. - Bernama
