Potholed road to Manggatal commercial centre patched up
Published on: Thursday, January 05, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
The concessionaire’s workers hard at work sealing the potholes in this part of the road.
CITY HALL will keep an eye on the road to a Manggatal commercial centre, from time to time, to ensure that motorists can travel to and from this property without incident.Improvement work was carried out on the stretch after a shop-operator at the centre spoke out about the traffic hazards of using the stretch after dark.ADVERTISEMENT
The proprietor’s vehicle wound up in the drain one night after he veered off the road.
A Penampang ratepayer, on the other hand, hopes the District Council will step up efforts to maintain her housing road as potholes have been forming in the stretch.
Thus, an individual provided Hotline with the location of her neighbourhood and the shopkeeper did likewise for the commercial centre. This information was forwarded to the respective agencies.
A spokesman for City Hall’s Traffic and Transport Department said its staff went to the latter area, shortly after the agency was contacted by the media.ADVERTISEMENT
“Our staff found that the surface of the road was uneven and damaged in places,” he said.
“On top of potholes, they noted that a section of the roadside drain had given way.”
One of the agency’s staff double-checks to ensure that the drain has been built according to the authority’s specifications.
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He said its Engineering Department (ED) and the government concessionaire were apprised about these findings.
A team from the company subsequently dealt with the road woes, according to him.
“The firm’s workers patched up the potholes and had rectangles of asphalt put in place over the more problematic cracks in the road surface.”
“We have called on the concessionaire to be more mindful about the condition of the stretch to minimise the potential inconvenience caused to motorists.”
The spokesman said the stretch had been built across a gentle slope in one part of Sepanggar Bay.
An ED spokesman said action was taken to restore the affected section of the drain.
“A 50-metre length of the drain, which is about two feet deep, was reconstructed last month,” he said.
“Our contractor had the gaps ‘backfilled’ after this was done. He also graded the slope.”
He said the agency had been aware of the problems with the drainage, prior to learning about what happened to the driver.
“We suspect that the drain may have inadvertently been damaged when part of the slope was reclaimed at some point last year.”
He said the company which conducted the land clearing was officially queried about this several months ago.
“We are still waiting for the developer to respond to our letter.”
The spokesman said City Hall was looking at the public lighting along the road.
“If we find the illumination wanting, then steps will be taken to make the stretch brighter for the safety of those who drive this way at night.”
AZI of Manggatal had left the centre and was going down the incline, when his front tyre went in the drain.
“I had my ‘hands-free’ on and was caught up in a conversation at the time,” he said.
“I did not realise till it was too late that my car had drifted off the road.”
He had to call for a tow truck in order to free his car which sustained some damage as a result of this.
“The repairs cost me RM900. Thankfully, I did not wind up injuring myself but I might have been spared this unnecessary expense if I knew where the edge of the drain was.
Azi called on the local authorities to attend to the road, including the drain, and to evaluate the night-time illumination in this area.
“They should do this before an accident occurs and someone comes to harm, or worse.”
Meanwhile, the District Council plans to attend to a pothole-laden stretch in one part of Penampang once it has replenished its stock of asphalt.
A spokesman for the agency said it was in the process of sourcing for a fresh supply of this material.
“Our officers have inspected the road to gauge the extent of the work which needs to be carried out,” he said.
“The length of the affected stretch and size of the potholes were measured during this check.”
RILEY of Penampang said she had been contacting the Council about the damage to the road in her neighbourhood “for years”.
“There are a number of potholes in the stretch which are causing undue wear and tear to the vehicles of those us who live here,” she said. “Some of the potholes are quite big.”
Riley claimed that some of her neighbours had resorted to hiring private contractors to attend to the road due to the Council’s inaction.
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