Traffic slow on major highways as congestion builds up for Deepavali holidays

 The Malaysian Highway Authority says those affected include the PLUS highway, the Johor Causeway and the Second Link Expressway.

Slow-moving traffic on the North-South Expressway from the direction of Bandar Ainsdale towards Senawang on Saturday. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

Traffic on several major highways across the country began to slow down this afternoon as the number of vehicles increased ahead of the Deepavali holidays.

The Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) said the affected routes included the northbound stretch of the North-South Expressway (PLUS) E1 from Trolak to Bidor, Gopeng to Simpang Pulai, Alor Pongsu to Jawi, and Perai to Bertam.

Also affected was the southbound stretch from Perai to Juru.

A spokesman said traffic on PLUS E2 was also building up and moving slowly at several stretches, including the northbound route from the Sungai Besi toll plaza to the city centre, Bandar Seri Putra to Bangi, Sedenak to Ayer Hitam, and Skudai to Senai.

Also affected was the southbound route from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) to Bangi, Nilai to Senawang, and Kempas to Pasir Gudang.

Traffic was also slow at the Johor Causeway, from the Woodlands Checkpoint (CIQ) in Singapore to the Sultan Iskandar CIQ in Johor in the northbound direction.

Congestion was also reported on the Second Link Expressway, from the Second Link Bridge to the Sultan Abu Bakar CIQ in Johor Bahru.

On the North-South Expressway Central Link (ELITE), traffic volume had built up, affecting the northbound stretches from Gamuda Cove to Bandar Saujana Putra, and Putra Heights to Shah Alam, as well as the southbound stretch from Putra Heights to Gamuda Cove.

Traffic was slow on the northbound stretch of the Cheras-Kajang Expressway (GrandSaga), from Bandar Tun Hussein Onn to Taman Suntex, while on the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway (KLK), the affected routes were from the Gombak toll plaza to Lentang and from Km78.9 to the Karak toll plaza in the eastbound direction.

Meanwhile, on the Sungai Besi Expressway (Besraya), traffic was slow on the northbound stretches from Bandar Tasik Selatan to Kuchai, and Serdang to Pekan Sungai Besi.

On the Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP), the affected stretches were Kelana Jaya to Damansara Utama, and Bandar Bukit Puchong to Jalan Majlis in the northbound direction, while traffic was slow from Penchala to Damansara Utama, and Sunway to Bandar Bukit Puchong in the southbound direction.

Slow-moving traffic was also reported on stretches of the Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (SILK), and the Kajang-Seremban Expressway (Lekas). - FMT