SUNGAI BULOH, March 28- The preparedness level of the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) and highway concessionaires is at its best to face the increase in traffic in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Minister of Works, Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi hopes that all parties involved will carry out their responsibilities to the best of their ability to ensure the safety and comfort of highway users.
"I was briefed earlier by PLUS and also LLM. We have ensured that the preparedness level is at the best possible level," he said.
In addition, he also reminded that the Emergency Response Team (ERT) patrol team needs to ensure a quick response time in providing assistance in the event of any incident on the highway.
To facilitate user travel, the government has announced a 50 percent toll discount for two days, in addition to limiting the movement of heavy vehicles during that period.
"We have announced a 50% discount for two days and also the JPJ has restricted heavy vehicles from being allowed for two days. And we have also ordered any non-emergency work to be stopped from March 24 to April 7. This is for us to manage so that this road is safe and comfortable," he added.
In another development, Datuk Seri Alexander also touched on the issue of heavy vehicles carrying loads exceeding the permitted limit, which is one of the main causes of road damage.
"Heavy vehicles are a clear cause of damage to our roads. That is why we have a load limit, but even though we have a load limit, there are still those who violate our regulations."
According to him, a special committee has been established to discuss methods to comprehensively deal with the load limit issue with the Ministry of Works (KKR) and the Ministry of Transport (MOT).
"There was a discussion between KSU and other officers with KSU MOT and related agencies to sit together, members of the special committee to discuss how to deal with the problem of load limit and damaged roads," he added.
Datuk Seri Alexander said this when met by reporters after conducting a traffic survey at the Sungai Buloh Overpass Restaurant (Northbound).
LLM expects the number of traffic during this festive season to increase to 2.77 million vehicles per day on the country's main highways.