SHAH ALAM: The RM20mil motorcycle lane upgrade project on the Federal Highway (FT002) has now reached 43% and is expected to be completed by August.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the high-impact project also includes lighting installation to illuminate the entire stretch for rider safety.
"This project was approved under Rolling Plan 5 (RP5) of the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP) by the Economy Ministry. Now its implementation has gone beyond the initial phase of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) and we hope it will be fully completed in August.
"Of the total allocation of RM20mil approved, RM6mil was specifically used to install more than 800 Integrated solar LED (ISLED) solar lights to brighten the road at night," he said.
He said this after inspecting several project sites through the Field Trip Programme to the Federal Highway Motorcycle Lane Upgrade Project in Batu Tiga, here on Thursday (May 21).
The project covers a 48km two-way stretch involving 7km of Section 10.4 to 13.9 of the Klang district, and 41km from Section 13.9 to 34.4 in Petaling.
He said the Selangor Public Works Department (JKR) is also carrying out work to repair the road surface, tunnels, bridge railings, replace road barriers and build special shelter facilities.
"Looking at the survey earlier, I am satisfied with the progress of the work that has begun and it will continue in stages including the road paving phase which will be done in the final stage later.
"The main focus now is the construction and expansion of drains because this motorcycle lane has several black spot areas that have often experienced flooding problems before," he said.
Meanwhile, Nanta said the original design of the motorcycle lane built in the 70s was only able to accommodate around 20,000 users per day, insufficient for what it handles today.
He said the latest data shows that around 35,000 motorcyclists use the lane every day, causing a very high amount of traffic.
"When the original design had exceeded capacity, its use became very dense and therefore we carried out the upgrading and expansion of the drainage system to ensure that the traffic flow was orderly and safe.
"We really hope that motorcyclists will take full advantage of this provided route when it is completed and no longer use the main road (highway) to avoid accidents," he said.
In the same development, Nanta also confirmed that his party is conducting a detailed study to identify motorcycle routes on other highways, especially in urban areas that have similar structures for the purpose of upgrading.
He said the ongoing measures reflect the ministry's commitment under the MyJalan programme and the core values of Malaysia Madani to ensure that the aspects of connectivity, accessibility and mobility of the people's road safety continue to be improved. - Bernama
