Federal Highway motorcycle lane upgrading to be completed in August

 Works minister Alexander Nanta Linggi says the focus now is the construction and expansion of drains to prevent flooding.

The motorcycle lane on the Federal Highway has exceeded its capacity.

SHAH ALAM:

The RM20 million project to upgrade the motorcycle lane on the Federal Highway has reached 43% and is expected to be fully completed by August.

Works minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said the high-impact project also includes the installation of lighting facilities worth RM6 million to illuminate the entire stretch to ensure the safety of riders.

“This project was approved under Rolling Plan 5 (RP5) of the 12th 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 RM20 million, RM6 million was specifically used to install more than 800 integrated solar LED lights to brighten the road,” he said.

He said this after inspecting several project sites in Batu Tiga, here, today.

Nanta said the project covers a two-way stretch measuring a total of 48km. It involves the Klang district (7km), starting from Section 10.4 to 13.9 and the Petaling district (41km) from Section 13.9 to 34.4.

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.

“I am satisfied with the progress of the work and it will continue in stages, including the road paving which will be done in the final stage.

“The main focus now is the construction and expansion of drains because the motorcycle lane has several spots that often get flooded,” he said.

Nanta said the original design of the motorcycle lane built in the ’70s was only meant to accommodate around 20,000 users per day.

However, the latest data shows that around 35,000 motorcyclists use the lane every day.

“We really hope that motorcyclists will take full advantage of the upgraded lane when it is completed and no longer use the main road (highway) to avoid accidents,” he said.

Nanta also confirmed that a detailed study is being conducted to identify motorcycle routes on other highways, especially in urban areas, that may need upgrading. - FMT