PWD to refurbish part of 82km Sipitang road
Published on: Tuesday, January 17, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
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Sipitang-bound traffic grounds to a standstill for hours when this lorry fell on its side.
Geoff and his friends struggled to get his twin-cab back on the unsealed road.
“We are still ironing out some of the details of what we intend to do but we hope to begin upgrading the road at some point this year,” he said. When asked if the same might be done all the way up to Long Mio and Long Pasia, he declined to comment. “It may seem logical for the Department to step in and do this at one go, from one end of the road to the other, but this is not for us to decide. “This is a decision for the State Cabinet. We can only proceed if we receive the green-light from the Government to extend the scope of the refurbishment effort.” The spokesman was responding to the harrowing experience a Long Pasia resident had while driving to Sipitang towards the end of December. His twin-cab slipped off Jalan Melingan-Long Mio-Long Pasia. He and the two others who were with him struggled to get the vehicle back onto the unsealed road. Only a month earlier, a logging truck had fallen on its side on Jalan Pantai Melingan, according to him. He and several other Sipitang-bound drivers could not get past the truck. They apparently had to wait for hours before they could resume their journey. The motorist felt it was high time that something was done to improve the condition of both roads and expressed his concerns in a letter to Hotline. His correspondence was forwarded to the PWD and Council.
A motor-grader in the process of evening out the aggregate on the affected section.
The Department spokesman said maintenance was performed on Jalan Pantai Melingan according to a fixed schedule. “Our concessionaire re-grades the road once every four months,” he said. “However, if any ‘emergency work’ is required then the company will have this done outside this schedule.” He said the firm’s contractor had been attending to the stretch almost weekly since November because of the onset of the inclement weather which was a feature of the North East Monsoon season. “We were concerned about the safety of drivers especially those who set out during a downpour. “The contractor and his team of about 19 workers will generally have ‘aggregate’ poured over the critical sections of the road, before having a motor-grader and roller go over this material.”
A roller puts the finishing touches on efforts to grade Jalan Pantai Melingan.
The spokesman said this remedial action was taken shortly after the incident involving the logging truck in November. “A Department engineer was among those who were caught in the hours-long impasse which occurred at the time. “He got first-hand experience of the inconvenience and traffic hazards which the ordinary motorist living in Long Mio and Long Pasia has to go through regularly.” The spokesman said the agency would step up efforts to monitor the condition of the stretch especially as the Chinese New Year public holidays drew near. “Traffic on Jalan Pantai Meligan has picked up with more of the rural folk travelling to the town to buy provisions and more of their family returning from outstation for the celebration.” GEOFF, who lives in Long Pasia, said the condition of the red-earth road, which linked his area and Long Mio to the town, had been going from bad to worse. “Many portions of the stretch, which goes up and down several hills, are uneven and slippery,” he said. He said some of the rural folk in this part of Sipitang had reported the road woes to the local authorities. “Many motorists are under the impression that the road has not been maintained since it was first built in the ‘70s. “I cannot understand why the relevant agencies are dragging their feet to improve the stretch.” In light of what happened to him last month, Geoff hoped action would be taken to repair the road before something unpleasant occurred and lives were lost. “It has been raining heavily on and off for the past few months. Each time it does, we become fearful that we might have an accident while using the road.” He shared his concerns with another fellow driver who spoke out about the lackadaisical attitude of the concessionaire which looks after the Council’s roads. “My friend happened to be introduced to one of the company’s personnel while eating at a coffee shop in Sipitang. “When he related what happened to me on Jalan Melingan-Long Pasia, the firm’s staff merely advised him not to drive out when it rained as the road became quite slippery. “Instead of assuring him that action would be taken to attend to the stretch, he made it seem like it was my fault for being reckless.” The staff apparently became silent when Geoff’s friend asked ‘what if it was an emergency and we needed to drive out for to get help’. A District Council spokesman said the firm was officially informed about Geoff’s grievance earlier this month. “A letter was sent to the concessionaire in the first week of January, he said. “We called on the management to take the appropriate action as soon as possible,” he said. “We were made to understand that an excavator was deployed to deal with several sections of the road shortly afterwards.” * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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