North-South Expressway needs a revamp

 When traffic demand exceeds the road capacity, telling motorists to drive better is not a solution.

I recently travelled to Ipoh using the North-South Expressway (NSE) and had the opportunity to observe firsthand the traffic conditions and how well the highway is serving our needs.

These are my actual observations, which the works ministry may want to take note of and act upon.

My conclusion: the NSE is no longer keeping pace with the traffic it is expected to carry.

Four-lane expressway

From Jalan Duta to the Rawang interchange, the expressway has four traffic lanes plus an emergency lane, which is being used exclusively by motorcycles. Traffic is heavy and people generally drive at high speed.

Lorries and buses take up most of the first two lanes, while cars dominate the other two lanes. The concessionaire, PLUS, has now installed signs on lane usage and speed.

Under the current advisory, the first two lanes are open to all vehicles, with a minimum speed of 60 kph. The third lane is intended for cars at a minimum speed of 80 kph, while the fourth is for cars at a minimum speed of 100 kph.

The lane-use and speed advisory were jointly developed by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research, the Malaysian Highway Authority, PLUS, and SKVE Holdings Sdn Bhd, with two ongoing test cases on selected sections of the PLUS and SKVE expressways.

The guidelines are useful, but they also highlight a bigger issue: traffic behaviour must be regulated as they are on Thai highways — strictly enforced for it to be effective and safe for all road users, thereby marginally increasing the road capacity.

Three lanes under pressure

At the Rawang interchange, the four-lane configuration ends and the NSE becomes a three-lane expressway towards Trolak. Presumably, planners must have expected that most traffic would be exiting at this interchange, thus the one-lane reduction.

However, this section of the NSE carries even heavier traffic, with more vehicles joining in to travel up north. At certain stretches, all three lanes slow down almost to a halt, suggesting that the expressway, without the fourth lane, is reaching its practical capacity.

Again, the first two lanes are dominated by heavy vehicles, while cars can be seen on all three lanes. The problem becomes particularly obvious when one lorry overtakes another.

Given that heavy vehicles travel at much lower speeds than cars, a lorry can hold up a long line of traffic when it is overtaking on the second lane, forcing cars into the third lane.

For motorists travelling in the third lane at the 100 kph speed limit, this can get uncomfortable. Faster vehicles inevitably approach from behind, sometimes flashing their headlights in an attempt to pass at speeds well above the limit.

This results in the actual operating speed in the third lane becoming significantly higher than that permitted.

But higher speeds do not create additional capacity. When traffic volume is already high, fast and slow vehicles competing for limited road space increase the potential for conflict, abrupt lane changes, and dangerous overtaking, posing high risk of catastrophic accidents.

Trolak to Ipoh: the real weakness

Beyond Trolak, the third lane suddenly disappears. From there all the way to Ipoh and beyond, the NSE remains essentially a two-lane expressway — a configuration designed more than three decades ago when traffic volume and the vehicle mix were very different.

Today, traffic on both lanes can be seriously heavy throughout the journey. Lorries and buses travelling at their permitted speeds tend to occupy the first lane, while faster cars use the second.

A motorist caught behind a slow-moving heavy vehicle may have to wait for a suitable gap before overtaking. When the second lane is already filled with fast-moving traffic, changing lanes to overtake can itself become extremely risky.

When the highway is at full capacity, forcing motorcyclists to use the emergency lane, there is no way to overtake.

This is where the difference between road capacity and traffic demand becomes obvious.

The Trolak–Ipoh section has effectively become a long, recurring bottleneck in both directions. It is not just the result of an occasional accident or poorly managed midblock.

The narrowing of the expressway from four lanes to three and then two makes it increasingly inadequate for today’s traffic.

The question then is: why are we still operating important sections of the country’s main north-south transport corridor with the same capacity they were built for more than 30 years?

Demand has increased

The fact remains that the NSE now carries high volumes of freight vehicles, buses and other commercial traffic generated by the growth of manufacturing, distribution, e-commerce and interstate movements, as well as new developments in towns and cities along the corridor.

The NSE was a transformative piece of infrastructure when it was built, connecting major urban centres along the west coast and forming the backbone of the country’s road network.

But traffic has grown, vehicle ownership has increased, freight movements have expanded, new townships and industrial areas have emerged, and travel patterns have changed.

The NSE now needs a comprehensive capacity and safety review based on today’s needs and, more importantly, projected demand over the next 10 to 30 years. The review should identify sections requiring additional lanes, especially where three and two lanes are inadequate.

Rest areas need upgrading

The same lack of forward planning can be seen at many of the NSE’s rest and service areas. Traffic has increased substantially over the years, but many facilities remain at their original capacity.

A queue for the toilet at the PLUS rest area at Ulu Bernam — one of the most congested stops along the NSE.

Parking, toilets, food outlets, petrol stations and charging facilities can become seriously overcrowded during weekends, public holidays and festive seasons.

This is more than an inconvenience. It can become a safety risk when vehicles are forced to park wherever space is available and traffic circulates within already congested facilities.

Additional service areas and strategically located interchanges along consecutive overloaded sections must also be considered to improve connectivity and distribute traffic rather than simply becoming catalysts for uncontrolled development.

I have often read that congestion on the NSE has been mentioned as an unavoidable consequence of having too many vehicles, over a long weekend or during festive seasons.

But that single-day observation was done on an ordinary day. Yet, the persistent heavy traffic and congestion, without any temporary disruptions such as roadworks or accidents, is clear evidence of inadequate capacity, lack of upgrades and poor planning.

Where are the expansion plans?

We should stop treating the NSE as a completed project requiring piecemeal improvements in the form of routine maintenance and occasional repairs.

It is a living piece of national infrastructure and must evolve with the economy, population and the traffic that it serves. After all, everyone using the NSE pays a toll. So, shouldn’t they deserve a better or improved experience?

When traffic demand has outgrown the road, telling motorists to drive better is not a substitute for providing adequate capacity.

The works ministry should view the NSE as one of Malaysia’s most important national connectivity assets.

Rather than wait until congestion and safety problems become so severe that upgrades turn into an expensive emergency exercise, the focus should be on delivering a well-planned, long-term solution from the planning stage. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.