PUTRAJAYA: Over five million vehicles are expected on major highways in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidiladha, which falls on Thursday (June 29).
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the increase in the number of vehicles, which began in stages yesterday (June 27), is expected to last until (Monday) July 3.
"The average increase in daily traffic across highways can reach up to 5.1 million vehicles,” he told reporters after inspecting the Malaysian Highway Authority’s (LLM) preparations ahead of the Aidiladha celebration at the Dengkil R&R (Southbound) service area located along the PLUS North-South Expressway (NSE) on Wednesday (June 28).
Of the total, Nanta expects the average daily traffic on the NSE to reach up to two million vehicles, the KL-Karak Expressway up to 170,000 vehicles and the East Coast Expressway Phase I up to 60,000 vehicles.
He said the Works Ministry and LLM are fully prepared to ensure smooth-flowing traffic on the highways, for which the highway concessionaire has been instructed to take proactive measures to minimise the negative effects of a higher volume of traffic.
He said the concessionaire company was asked to ensure there will be no construction and maintenance works involving the closure of lanes on highways until July 3, and to issue a Travel Time Advisory (TTA) schedule for users of the NSE, KL-Karak Expressway and East Coast Expressway Phase 1 to help them plan their trips.
Nanta said his team will activate the ‘smart lane’ or contraflow lane at several locations based on needs and suitability to increase capacity and help with traffic flow.
According to him, other measures that have been taken include improving operational management by adding up to 20 per cent of highway officers such as patrol officers, officers at toll plazas and members of the Malaysian Volunteer Department (Rela), and ensuring that the toll collection system works properly to avoid congestion at toll plazas as well as placing staff to help users with problems that arise.
Nanta said his team will also ensure the concessionaire will prepare the Emergency Response Team (ERT) to speed up the activation process when dealing with any incidents that occur on the highways.
He also said that for the convenience of highway users, LLM’s Traffic Management Centre (TMC) will operate for 24 hours today (June 28) and on July 2 to help highway users obtain the latest traffic information.
Nanta added that staff will also be provided with mobile scanners to facilitate traffic flow and overcome congestion at RFID lanes. - Bernama
