KUCHING: There will be a temporary lane closure at the traffic light junction at Mile 6 Kuching-Serian Road this Saturday (Dec 8) from 8am to 5pm and road users are advised to use alternative roads.
Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd project manager when contacted yesterday explained that the closure was to facilitate relocation of the traffic light controller box which is blocking the constructing a new 10-metre lane.
“Once the traffic light controller box is relocated and placed at a permanent location, we will continue with the construction of the new lane which will take two to three days to complete,” he said.
He also mentioned that traffic congestion is unlikely to happen during the closure period because relocation works are not done during peak hours.
“Approximately 85,000 vehicles use the junction daily, so with the new lane it will be able to reduce traffic congestion,” he added.
With the lane closure, road users from Serian are not allowed to make a right turn at the traffic light junction to Kuching International Airport (KIA) while those from Kuching are not allowed to make a U-turn to Kuching at the Mile 6 traffic light junction.
Road users from KIA are not allowed to make a right turn at Mile 6 traffic light junction, only U-turn is allowed.
Alternatively, road users can make a U-turn at Mile 4 ½ to go back to the traffic light junction before turning left to KIA or turn right at Mile 4 ½ and drive to KIA using BDC interchange.
Meanwhile, Padawan Municipal Council chairman Lo Khere Chiang called for public understanding on the lane closure at Mile 6 traffic light junction this Saturday.
Lo who is also Batu Kitang assemblyman said with the closure, works to widen the road (Kuching to Serian) can be undertaken.
“There is a traffic junction box in the way of the road widening. Once it is done traffic flow will be much smoother and traffic jam from Mile 4 to the traffic lights at Mile 6 will definitely be lighter. In order to achieve this, the lane has to be closed so that construction work can be expedited and construction time minimised,” he said, adding that it is also timely to close the lane as it is now the school holidays.
“The lane closure will cause inconvenience to some but will definitely benefit road users going to Serian in the long run,” Lo said.
He also thanked the contractor for alerting the public long before the closure in implemented.
