Traffic flow on major highways congested following long weekend

 

Traffic moves slowly along the northbound North-South Expressway near Ladang Bikam at 11.15am. NSTP/EFFENDY RASHID

KUALA LUMPUR: Traffic flow on several major highways in the country was slow and congested as of 6 pm this evening due to the increase in vehicles following the school holidays and National Day holiday which begins this weekend.

A spokesman for the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) said traffic heading north was detected moving slowly from Sungai Buloh towards Bukit Beruntung, Bukit Tagar to Lembah Beringin, and Sungkai to Simpang Pulai.

He said congestion to the north was also reported from Changkat Jering to Taiping Utara, Bukit Merah to Bandar Baharu and Permatang Pauh towards Bertam.

"Meanwhile, southbound traffic flow was reported to be congested starting from Bangi towards Southville, and continuing from Nilai Utara extending to Pedas Linggi.

"For the route towards the East Coast, traffic was detected to be slow starting from the Gombak toll lapza towards Genting Sempah and from Lentang towards Bentong, in addition to some congestion from Lanchang to Temerloh following flood mitigation repair works," he said.

The congestion trend is similar to that of festive holidays due to the number of vehicles recorded increasing drastically since yesterday evening and early this morning, according to a spokesman.

He expected this high and slow traffic flow to continue until late tonight as people took the opportunity to go on holiday and return to their hometowns.

Meanwhile, traffic flow on the West Coast Expressway (WCE) was reported to be still under control and smooth in both directions so far.

In this regard, MHA advised highway users to plan your journey as the driving time is expected to be long.

The public is also advised to ensure that their vehicles are well maintained before starting their journey and to always monitor the current traffic status via MHA's official social media platforms or related media. - NST