SIBU: Jalan Ulu Sungai Merah here will be made into a dual carriageway following the construction of a traffic light intersection.
Residents there had voiced out to Pelawan assemblyman David Wong that the construction of the traffic light intersection at Jalan Ulu Sungai Merah-Jalan Ling Kai Cheng would worsen the traffic jam.
They claimed that unless the road was turned into a dual carriageway, the traffic congestion would never be solved but in fact would get worse.
SMC chairman Clarence Ting, who visited the site with Wong yesterday, however cautioned that the widening of the road would not solve the congestion problem unless there was a passageway at the inner part of the road.
“I want to tell everybody that we can have dual carriageway, four lanes or even five lanes on each side. It is no use as it won’t solve the problem because the inner part of the road is a dead end,” he said.
Ting said there was now a need to build a new road at the inner part of Jalan Sungai Merah to link it to other roads as an escape route.
“I hope that the authority concerned would consider this new road as soon as possible.”
As a temporary measure to ease traffic congestion, he said SMC would be opening up space in front of SMK Ulu Sungai Merah and SJK Nang Sang for parents to drop or pick up their children.
“The principal of SMK Ulu Sungai Merah came to see me recently to voice out the congestion issue. The school has 1,200 students.
“I told her to reduce the number of students to 700 in order to alleviate the trafffic congestion problem. Of course this is not possible as the population in the area is increasing due to new housing projects,” he said.
On the construction of the traffic light intersection there, Ting said the project was approved by the previous administration.
On Wong’s present at the site inspection, Ting said: “It has nothing to do with politics but on how we can better the life of the people.”
Wong also concurred with Ting, saying that the traffic congestion there was an issue.
“Parents sending their children to school have to wake up at 5am every morning due to the traffic congestion. When a car breaks down, traffic stands still,” he said.
