Regular checks on Jalan Beaufort-Sipitang for potholes
Published on: Thursday, May 04, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
The PWD’s maintenance team repairing the potholes in the section of the main road near the junction to SK Melalia in Sipitang.
THE Public Works Department (PWD) has repaired sections of Jalan Beaufort-Sipitang and will endeavour to have regular checks made in a bid to minimise the inconvenience which road-users face as a result of potholes forming in the stretch.This action was prompted by feedback from several Beaufort motorists – who live in Kg Limbawang, Kg Inuman and Kg Bukau – as well as one from Sipitang who teaches at SK Melalia.
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They blamed the lack of maintenance on the main road between the two towns for damaging their cars, lamenting the added costs they had to bear in having a mechanic attend to these vehicles.
These drivers separately provided Hotline with the location of the damaged portions of the stretch. This information was forwarded to the PWD.
A Department spokesman said preliminary inspections were made of Jalan Beaufort-Sipitang on the same day that the agency was contacted by the media.
“Sizeable patches of asphalt were found to have worn away in some places while ‘holes’ had formed in others,” he said.
PWD workers pour asphalt over the damaged parts of the main road in the Klias-Limbawang area.
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“The main road, near the junctions to the affected villages, is being widened as part of efforts to construct the Pan-Borneo Highway.”
He said the PWD’s maintenance team in the district dealt with the damage in stages, whenever a fresh supply of asphalt became available.
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Steamrollers were deployed in most cases to grade the road, after the potholes had been sealed with this material, according to him
“There have been instances, over the past two months, where we ran into difficulty replenishing our stock of asphalt.”
The spokesman said the damaged sections of the main road in the Klias-Limbawang area were attended to earlier this week. In light of the recurring road woes, he said the agency’s staff would be asked to increase their surveillance of Jalan Beaufort-Sipitang.
“Any irregularities will be dealt with, on a case by case basis, depending on the severity of the severity of the damage observed.”
He explained that maintenance was carried out as and when it became necessary to do so.
“To this end, we hope motorists will inform us directly if the potholes come back.”
YAHYA of Beaufort spoke out about the poor driving experience of travelling between the town and Kg Limbawang.
“The asphalt on the main road is damaged in so many places,” he said.
“It is virtually impossible to go around some of the exposed sections, especially when it rains as water ponds on the stretch.”
He said there were as many as four potholes alone between the junction to the village and bridge in the Selagon area.
“What has happened to the road-tax which the Government collects from the hundreds of drivers based in the district?
“Why aren’t these funds being used to repair Jalan Beaufort-Sipitang?”
MIDI of Beaufort, on the other hand, bemoaned the presence of potholes on many sections of the main road near the junction, to Kg Inuman where she lived.
She estimated that some of the “holes” were a few feet deep.
“The uneven surface of the road plays havoc with the alignment of my car,” she said.
Midi said the condition of the stretch had gradually been deteriorating and wondered why the local authorities had turned a blind eye to these road woes.
“One of neighbours phoned the PWD a few months ago and even sent the agency a letter, about this matter.
“Since then nothing has been done to minimise the difficulty which road-users are facing.”
The pothole-laden section of the main road near the junctions to Kg Bukau and Kg Inuman make for a poor driving experience.
ROSNAN, who lives in Kg Bukau, hoped the Department would speed up efforts to repair the section of Jalan Beaufort-Sipitang near the turn-off to the village before a bad traffic accident occurred.
“The road is especially hazardous to motorcyclists,” he said.
“If their tyres hit the potholes, they could easily lose control of their bikes and wind up injuring themselves or worse.”
He said several cyclists had already missed colliding with cars coming from the opposite direction while swerving to avoid the potholes in the road.
LENA of Sipitang said she had scrapped the undercarriage of her car on so many occasions while driving to and from her home in Kg Melalia and the school where she teaches.
She said the main road is laden with holes of various sizes and depths.
“A sizeable amount of my monthly salary goes to keeping my car road-worthy. I have spent so much at the workshop since I was posted to Sipitang.
“Off late, I have begun to wonder if it would be more prudent to make use of a bicycle to get to work.”
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