Transport minister says KL to have more contra roads to ease traffic jams, starting July

PUTRAJAYA, May 19 — More contra flow roads will be opened in the national capital to ease traffic congestion in the coming months, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said today.

Three new contra flow roads will open from July 3, beginning with the Sungai Besi toll to the Sungai Besi Expressway (Besraya) junction, which totals 2.4km.

Loke said the second suggestion is to extend the contra flow from Jalan Maharajalela to Taman Connaught, a distance of four kilometres.

He said this contra flow road is proposed to be open only to private vehicles, but not motorcycles.

The third and final suggestion is to open a new contra flow lane from Ampang Point to Jalan Tun Razak, but only for public transport.

“Our stats show that in the morning, two million vehicles are entering Kuala Lumpur whereas DBKL found in a 24-hour period a total of six million cars are in Kuala Lumpur alone,” he told a news conference at his ministry here.

DBKL refers to Kuala Lumpur City Hall.

Loke said the data did not include the satellite cities around Kuala Lumpur, such as Petaling Jaya.

“In addition, our public transport usage is only around 15 per cent. So can you imagine how bad traffic is?” he asked.

He said his ministry will continue to monitor the traffic situation in the Klang Valley with other authorities, including DBKL, public transportation firm Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, and the police, for further ways to alleviate the congestion.

He also said he has urged DBKL to be stricter in issuing permit extensions to construction companies that apply to close certain roads to carry out works.

“If they can’t finish their work in time they will have to bear the cost themselves,” he added.

Traffic jams in the Klang Valley due to frequent road closures have been repeatedly blamed for delays in workers reaching their place of work and increased economic cost.

Some roads have been closed for years with no end in sight.

Loke and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi have been tasked to find a solution to this perennial problem.

Loke said he has asked local governments to identify roads that are heavily congested.

Once the local governments have confirmed the roads involved and proposed alternative routes, these would be presented and decided upon at the next meeting of the Cabinet committee.

Loke said more studies are being conducted and he also encouraged the public to consider using public transport when possible.