KUALA LUMPUR, 27 Jan 2019:
The opening of the emergency lanes to traffic at two critical locations on the North-South Expressway by PLUS Malaysia Bhd, in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration on Feb 5, is to ensure smooth traffic during peak hours.
The two locations in Perak involve the 7km stretch from Simpang Pulai to Gopeng at KM287 to KM295.1 and the 7km stretch from Slim River to Sungkai at KM367.6 to KM360.5.
PLUS said in a statement yesterday that based on research and records of past festive seasons, traffic congestion had always been severe at both locations.
“Our records show that the journey between Slim River and Sungkai (19km) will usually take about 45 minutes during the festive seasons due to traffic congestion.
“PLUS hopes that with the opening of the emergency lanes at both locations, road users will be able to enjoy a comfortable ride during this festive season.”
Reminding driver that emergency lane usage is not for the entire stretch of the highway, it added the two stretches identified “will only be opened during high traffic periods and when traffic congestion condition is at its peak”.
PLUS explained the opening of the emergency lanes was made possible with the approval of the police – and the use of the emergency lanes could be stopped anytime should there be safety issues.
According to PLUS, this experimental move was taken to help assess traffic management effectiveness without ignoring the safety of highway users.
“PLUS expects 1.9 million vehicles will be plying the North South Expressway every day during the festive period as compared to 1.45 million on regular days, which is a 24% increase.”
– Bernama