KUCHING, Oct 8: Stampin assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen is calling on Minister of Works Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof to expedite the flyover construction works currently being carried out at 6th Mile, 7th Mile and 10th Mile to ease the massive traffic congestion caused by the said works in the area.
According to Chong, who is also Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chief, two questions were submitted to Parliament, questioning the Minister of Works regarding the traffic jams caused by the prolonged flyover construction works at the 3 junctions at 6th Mile, 7th Mile and 10th Mile.
“Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, the Minister of Works, is a Member of Parliament from Sarawak. I urge that he pays a little more attention to the projects in Sarawak. It is not too much to ask of him to do a little more to help ease the problems faced by Sarawakians in the course of the construction works in this respect,” he said in a statement today.
Chong added that he had personally observed the manner in which the works were carried out at these junctions, and claimed that the progress was slow-moving and there was a lack of proper traffic diversion and management, especially during peak hours, thus aggravating the traffic jams at those junctions.
He said while public appreciates the fact that road construction work will inevitably cause inconvenience to road users, the contractor undertaking the work and the government can do much better to reduce such inconvenience and to shorten the time of the construction.
“In this respect, neither were done to the public’s satisfaction. The so-called diversion lanes are insufficient and the pace of work is too slow. The government’s contract only provides for one shift of work per day instead of more shifts to expedite the work,” he added.
Furthermore, Chong pointed out that in most major cities around the world, construction of major road projects was carried out at night to minimise disturbance to road users during peak hours.
“For the flyover project, works were carried out during the day, aggravating the situation, and as a result, commuters are unnecessarily stuck in traffic jams for hours,” he said. — DayakDaily
