Potholes in two Kuala Penyu roads sealed
Published on: Friday, October 20, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
The concessionaire’s patching-team hard at work attending to this section of Jalan Kebunau-Menumpang.
THE Public Works Department (PWD) has reinstated two roads in Kuala Penyu and will be keeping tabs on the condition of these stretches to ensure that they do not become damaged again.
This follows feedback from drivers living in Kg Kebunau and Kg Palu Palu about the numerous potholes which had formed in these roads.
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They feared that a bad accident might happen at any time, especially if a motorist lost control of his/ her vehicle while trying to avoid the damaged portions of the road.
A motorcyclist could easily be thrown from his/her bike, if he/she was not careful, according to them.
Layers of the asphalt on the 100m road chipped away due to delamination.
Two road-users provided Hotline with the location of the potholes. This information was forwarded to the PWD.
A spokeswoman for a government concessionaire with the Department said a preliminary inspection was made of Jalan Kebunau-Menumpang, as well as the road which crosses the Sitompok bridge near Kg Palu Palu.
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“Our staff confirmed the presence of potholes on the first road during this check,” she said.
“They also noted that the surface of the stretch was split with cracks in several places.”
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Where the one on the Sitompok bridge was concerned, she said sections of the asphalt were found to have chipped away due to “delamination”.
“Delamination” was the process of a material breaking into thin layers, according to her.
She said the road on the concrete bridge spanned some 100 metres, while Jalan Kebunau-Menumpang was about 4.9 kilometres in length.
A group of six workers from the company returned after a few days to attend to Jalan Kebunau.
“Premix was poured over the potholes. The affected sections of the stretch were later sealed,” the spokeswoman said.
“We suspect that the surface of the road might have given way under the weight of the many heavy vehicles which travel up and down this route.”
She said a separate team dealt with the irregularities on the Sitompok bridge.
The company’s workers in the process of making repairs to the road on the Sitompok bridge.
In light of these road woes, the spokeswoman said the firm’s staff would be asked to increase their surveillance of both stretches.
“We have a supervisor who goes around the district each week to check on the condition of the various stretches which are under our care.
“Any irregularities are dealt with, on a case by case basis, depending on the severity of the damage observed.”
She explained that maintenance was carried out as and when it became necessary to do so.
“To this end, we hope motorists will inform the PWD if the potholes come back.”
MOKSIN of Kuala Penyu said more and more potholes had gradually been forming on the road leading to Kg Kebunau and SMK Kuala Penyu over the past few months.
He said he knew of a motorcyclist from the village, who recently drove off the road.
“The front tyre of his motorcycle hit a pothole causing him to lose control of his bike,” he said.
“He was thrown from the two-wheeler which tipped over and skidded to a halt.
“Fortunately, there was no other traffic on the road at the time, otherwise he might have been run over.”
Moksin mentioned this incident to one of his neighbours who related his own harrowing experience on the same stretch.
“One of my friend’s tyres burst while his car was going over a pothole. The vehicle veered left and right in a zig-zag fashion for a few minutes before he managed to pull over to the side of the road.”
Something similar happened to Aziz, who lives in Kg Palu Palu, when his car was coming down from the Sitompok bridge.
“A component in the undercarriage sustained some damage because of the potholes in the road,” he said.
“My car veered off onto the pavement where the engine eventually died.”
He ran up a hefty bill in workshop charges to get his vehicle roadworthy again.
Both complainants hoped the PWD would take steps to improve the condition of both roads before a bad accident occurred.
Moksin’s friends and Aziz wound up being able to walk away, despite what happened.
“Others might not be so lucky and could lose their lives,” they said.
“We hope the Department is not waiting for this to happen before carrying out proper repairs.”
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