PWD to replace missing cement slabs over drains
Published on: Wednesday, March 22, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
The motorcyclist tumbled from his bike as it went over the uneven surface of Jalan Dewan.
THE Public Works Department (PWD) will step up efforts to maintain the cement slabs placed over the covered drains along main roads around the State Capital, including two stretches in the Karamunsing area.This follows mounting concern about the pedestrian hazards posed by “the holes” in sections of the public walkway on Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Kemajuan.
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Among those put at risk at the former are pupils who attend Sacred Heart National Primary School.
An Inanam motorist, meanwhile, hopes City Hall will act to safeguard the wellbeing of road-users travelling between the Kota Kinabalu Community Centre and Police Station nearby, after a motorcyclist was thrown from his bike earlier this month because of an irregularity in the surface of Jalan Dewan.
A missing metal cover, embedded in the stretch, was to blame for the mishap.
The concessionaire’s workers in the midst of blocking the ‘hole’ along Jalan Kemajuan.
Hotline forwarded the location of the ‘danger zones’ to the respective agencies, in each of these instances.
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A PWD spokesman said its concessionaires had been asked to accord priority to replacing the missing slabs in the walkways on Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Kemajuan.
He said there were drains running several metres below the road-shoulders at both these locations
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“The companies, tasked with looking after the respective roads, are in the midst of fabricating new concrete covers,” he said.
“They hope to have the replacement slabs put in place very soon.”
He said mild steel grills were temporarily placed over some “holes” in the walkways, while others were cordoned off behind plastic barricades.
When asked how often the covered drains and walkways were maintained, he said this was done as and when it became necessary to do so.
“To this end, both concessionaires have been asked to check on the condition of these structures regularly.
“We have called on them to do what they can to ensure that the public safety on Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Kemajuan is not compromised.”
ABBY of Likas and MAY of Luyang had been under the impression that these walkways were under the purview of City Hall and took aim at the authority for turning a blind eye to the potential injury which the public was likely to suffer because of the missing slabs.
The former claimed to have alerted City Hall about “the holes” along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman just before school holidays began in February.
“Other than barricading the holes, nothing has been done to replace the missing slabs up till now,” she said on March 20.
“How much does it cost City Hall to protect those who use the walkway along the road?”
May, on the other hand, pointed out the imminent danger posed by the exposed section along Jalan Kemajuan.
“The hole is located at a bend in walkway and anyone, who is unaware that the slab is missing, could easily wind up falling inside,” she said.
Their grievances were initially forwarded to City Hall.
The exposed section along Jalan Kemajuan is located at a bend in the road.
A spokesman for the agency’s Engineering Department said a check of its records revealed that neither road was under its jurisdiction.
“Nevertheless, the PWD was informed about the missing slabs on both walkways as soon as this problem came to our attention,” he said.
In the case of Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, he said, this was first done at the end of January, and again this month.
“Our staff noted the presence of as many as five holes on the road-shoulder after we received the initial report.
“Only one slab was found to be missing on Jalan Kemajuan when we learned about this irregularity in March.”
When asked about the metal cover which had been removed from one part of Jalan Dewan, the spokesman said City Hall was trying to identify the parties which had installed the structure in the first place
“The rectangular-shaped cover has nothing to do with the sewerage servicing the area,” he said.
“We are in the midst of deliberating over how best to attend to the uneven surface of the road for the safety of the many drivers who pass this way daily.”
TAMMI of Inanam was driving from the Community Centre to the Bandaran Berjaya area on a recent weekday afternoon, when she saw the motorcyclist tumble onto Jalan Dewan.
“He lost control of his bike as it was going over the section of the road where the metal cover used to be when he suddenly fell off his bike,” she said.
“Thankfully, the car behind managed to pull to the side as there was no on-coming vehicle at the time, otherwise he would surely have been run over.”
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