City Hall to cover the holes in housing roads
Published on: Saturday, June 12, 2021
By: Sidney Skinner
.jpg "City Hall to cover the holes in housing roads")
The ‘hole’ in this Kolombong road is hazardous to the many drivers who live here. (Inset): Some dried branches were placed in the exposed section to fore warn motorists of this trouble spot.
CITY HALL will cover the holes in several Kolombong housing roads, where the metal plates have gone missing.A spokesman for the agency said the Engineering Department (ED) was deliberating over how best to conceal the exposed sections.
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“Should the plates we have prove to be a poor fit, we will have to order more suitable replacements,” he said.
“It might take some time to obtain new covers as they will have to be specially ordered.”
He said City Hall would also have to account for constraints placed on the manufacturer due to the Movement Control Order.
“Once the plates have been fabricated, we will have to devise some means to prevent these covers from being forcibly pried open.
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The spokesman was responding to a Taman Iramanis rate-payer’s observations about the traffic hazards posed by the uncovered sections of the drains running beneath some roads in the neighbourhood.
This overflowing manhole is a source of frustation to those who live and work at this Inanam commercial center.
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She provided Hotline with the location of the hole nearest to where she lived. This information was forwarded to the agency.
The spokesman said City Hall personnel went to the housing area later that afternoon, after being contacted by the media.
“They found that the plate had been removed not only on the stretch in front of resident’s home.
“The covers were also gone from a few other roads in the neighbourhood.”
He said the agency suspected that scrap metal thieves had made away with these structures.
He said the firm was keen to prevent such an experience from recurring.
“For the time being, we have placed pieces of wood and security tape in the uncovered sections to ensure that motorists do not get too close.
“We don’t want their tires to get stuck in the holes or, worse still, to burst if this happens.”
He was aware that the wood and tape provided an imperfect barricade as they could easily be moved out of place.
“We are weighing up the possibility of having the plates welded down to make it more difficult to be removed.”
The effluent escaping from the manhole has cause a sizeable pool to form beside the five-foot way here.
CAITLYN of Kolombong said motorists risked being hit from behind as they slowed down to avoid the exposed section on Lorong Iramanis 6 where the cover had been removed.
“Alternately, drivers, who swerve to avoid the hole, may wind up inadvertently colliding with oncoming traffic,” she said.
She feared that those with poor night vision might not be able to make out the uncovered section and accidentally drive into the hole.
“This could also happen during a downpour when visibility is impaired.”
Caitlyn said one of her neighbours had placed some dried branches around the hole near her house, to forewarn motorists of this trouble spot.
She decried the lack of maintenance carried out on the road by the local authorities.
“I am at a loss to understand how that they could have turned a blind eye to this problem.
“I hope City Hall is not waiting for a bad accident to happen, and someone to come to harm or worse, before dealing with the exposed section of the road.”
Meanwhile, the agency will check on the goings-on at an Inanam commercial centre, following a complaint about the nuisance created by effluent escaping from some of the manholes around the property.
The spokesman said ED staff would have to verify this claim.
“If it proves to be true, we will arrange to clear any blockages in the sewer lines servicing the building,” he said.
“In the past, the pipes have been clogged with congealed bits of used cooking oil.”
He explained that the contractor tasked with maintaining the sewerage there had inspected the manholes regularly, in light of earlier complaints that the latter had been overflowing.
ALLAN, who works at an office in the building, noticed that the manhole on the road, where he parked, was overflowing when he left from work on a recent weekday.
“The next morning, the stretch was still soiled with effluent,” he said.
He bemoaned the foul smell coming from the direction of the manhole.
“Not only is it a nuisance, but it is also most unhealthy given the presence of several eateries here.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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