PWD to rehabilitate parts of Kinarut road
Published on: Thursday, March 09, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
A PWD personnel has a look at the condition of Jalan Labak during the joint inspection with the agency’s concessionaire in March.
THE Public Works Department (PWD) plans to rehabilitate parts of a Kinarut road, while City Hall will periodically check on the condition of the stretches in a Manggatal neighbourhood.Potholes of various shapes and sizes have formed in many places of the former road. The asphalt is also cracked, or missing altogether, in other places.ADVERTISEMENT
The stretches for the residential property, on the other hand, are apparently not being attended to properly, with a slip-dash effort being made to resurface a housing road here recently.
Two drivers made these claims separately to Hotline, naming the stretches they were unhappy about. This information was forwarded to the Department and City Hall.
A PWD spokesman said its concessionaire had been roped in to deal with the damage to Jalan Labak.
“This road is one of several around Papar which has been included in an improvement programme being undertaken by the company,” he said.ADVERTISEMENT
A spokesman for the firm said the management intended to “reinstate” two portions of the stretch, both covering a span of 300 metres in total.
“The reinstatement involves pavement strengthening and resurfacing both sections,” he said.
Lorries were observed moving to and from a quarry in this part of Kinarut.
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“We have suggested this to the Department and are presently waiting to receive the greenlight for our proposal.”
He said the concessionaire tentatively expected to begin repairing the road by “the end of March or beginning of April” at the earliest.
MIKAIL of Papar said he had noticed many lorries moving about on Jalan Labak.
He said these vehicles were involved in transporting stones from a quarry, at one section of the road, to construction sites around the town
“I suspect that that these lorries may be overloaded,” he said.
The frequency with which the lorries used the route, coupled with the pressure exerted by the excessive weight on the stretch, has damaged the road, according to him.
“The asphalt has worn away in some places. These sections make the road look as if it is made of gravel.
“Drivers of small cars, like Kancils, frequently damage the undercarriage of their vehicles on the bigger stones lying in their path and have to shoulder high costs for the repairs.”
Mikail said several motorists had nearly collided with one another because of the irregular surface of the stretch.
“On top of improving the condition of the road, strict action needs to be taken against lorry drivers who insist on overloading their vehicles.”
The PWD spokesman said staff from its Papar branch and a representative from the concessionaire jointly inspected Jalan Labak, shortly after learning about the motorist’s grievance.
“The damage in two parts of the stretch was found to be ‘beyond routine maintenance’,” he said.
“Both individuals also confirmed the driver’s suspicions, after monitoring the traffic along the stretch.”
They noticed a substantial number of lorries going to and from the quarry in the area at the time, according to him.
“Our personnel had a word with the operator of the premises about reducing the loads being transported by his/ her lorries during the inspection.”
The spokesman said the Department’s personnel would keep the traffic-flow on the road under observation from time to time.
“If need be, we may seek the assistance of the Road Transport Department (RTD) to crack down on lorry-drivers whose vehicles carry more than their allowed weight.”
Under the RTD’s ordinance, drivers who transport more than the weight-allowance of their vehicles can be deemed to have committed an offence.
Offenders risk having to pay a fine of between RM1, 000 – RM10, 000 or serve a prison sentence of up to a year or both.
Meanwhile, City Hall has refuted claims about the half-hearted manner in which asphalt was applied to the surface of Lorong Mempelam 3C.
A spokesman for its Traffic and Transport Department said a private contractor had been appointed by a local politician to carry out this work in Taman Sepanggar Phase 2, with the agency tasked with overseeing this effort.
“We suspect that a misunderstanding may have occurred between a rate-payer and the contractor when the road was being dealt with,” he said.
The homeowner was under the impression that the latter had not intended to resurface the section of the stretch in front of his house and the one next door, according to him.
“The contractor admitted that he was initially in two minds about spreading the asphalt all the way to the end of the road, where the individual lived, because of the vehicles which had encroached on this part of the stretch.
“Nevertheless, he went ahead and did so anyway.”
The spokesman said there were no grounds for the rate-payer to believe that the housing roads in his area were not being maintained as they should.
“Periodic checks are made of Lorong Mempelam 3C and others in the neighbourhood.
“The government concessionaire will be informed about any damage which our staff note and asked if they can step in to deal with it.”
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