By SARBAN SINGH and LEE YEN MUN
newsdesk@thestar.com.my | Aug 11, 2010
Stop work order on highways for Raya period
SEREMBAN: All highway operators have been told to stop construction work a week before the Hari Raya celebrations in anticipation of a massive increase in traffic volume during the period next month.
Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said the operators would only be allowed to carry out critical work during the two-week Hari Raya period.
“They cannot do any construction work during the two weeks which will coincide with Ops Sikap.
“We expect the number of vehicles on the road to increase from one million to 1.3 million daily,” he said.
Shaziman said the stop work order was also necessary as the number of accidents during the fasting month and Hari Raya was exceptionally high.
The number of accidents registered during Hari Raya last year was 803 cases compared with 733 cases in the previous year.
“The Malaysian Highway Authority and highway concessionaires will advise motorists on when is the best time to travel,” he said.
According to the MHA, upgrading work at the 10 spots along the major highways which usually recorded a high number of accidents should be completed by mid-August.
The blackspots were at KM102.8 (Sg Petani South-Sg Petani North), KM257 and KM256.4 (K Kangsar-Jelapang), KM373 (Slim River-Behrang), KM399.4 (Behrang-Tg Malim), KM431.4 (Bukit Beruntung-Rawang), KM6.7 (Sg Rasau toll plaza) and KM17.2 (ramp A-Damansara interchange).
The two dangerous spots along the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway were at KM71.4 and KM71.5.
It was learnt that the highway concessionaires have also been told to hire more support staff during the festive period and open additional lanes at toll booths. Shaziman said highway operators, officials from his ministry and the Education Ministry will be holding road safety campaigns during the period.
Video recordind depicting the importance of safe driving and the facilities available along the highways would also be distributed to selected schools before the festive season.
Several other programmes including essay writing competitions would be organised in schools to inculcate road safety awareness among the young so that they can influence their parents and family members to exercise caution and to adhere to all traffic rules.
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