PETALING JAYA: The upgrading of several critical stretches on the North-South Expressway is expected to give motorists a smoother drive home during festive holidays, said PLUS Malaysia Bhd.
“In order to meet the expected balik kampung rush, critical stretches under the Fourth Lane Project involving the Shah Alam-Jalan Duta-Sg Buloh Overhead Restaurant stretch will be opened up to facilitate a smoother journey,” said PLUS chief operating officer Mohammad Fuad Khusairi.
He added that the upgraded stretches along Slim River and Sungkai, as well as the improvement of the Kuala Kangsar Interchange, all located in Perak, would also help ease traffic flow.
“Motorists travelling at night will also benefit from the illuminated stretches from Simpang Pulai to Gua Tempurung, and from Kuala Kangsar to the Menora Tunnel,” he said, adding that PLUS would also be working closely with traffic police for better traffic management.
“There will also be an active contra traffic flow at selected locations along the expressway based on approval from the police as well as the prevailing traffic situation,” he said.
Besides this, Mohammad said PLUS had issued a Travel Time Advisory (TTA) to advise motorists on how to plan their journey home.
“This year’s TTA not only covers Klang Valley users travelling north and south, but also advises users already in both the northern and southern regions as they move about,” he said.
To encourage motorists to abide by the TTA, he added that toll rebates ranging from 20% to 30% would be given to users who observe the recommended travel times on Feb 17, 18, 21 and 22.
This category of users must travel at least 100km and use cashless methods to pay toll.
PLUS expects that 1.5 million vehicles will use the NSE each day during the four days, identified as peak travel days this Chinese New Year. This is significantly more than the 1.3 million vehicles seen daily during other periods.
Bernama reported that traffic flow on several major highways in the country Tuesday night was reported as slow-moving .
A PLUS Expressways Bhd traffic control centre spokesman reported traffic heading to the north, central and southern regions was moving slowly at 8.30pm.
“In the south, traffic from Skudai to Kulai and from Kulai to Sedenak in Johor is slow-moving while traffic is heavy from Slim River to Sungkai and from Tapah to Gopeng,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
In the north, traffic was slow moving from Kuala Kangsar to Changkat Jering, he said.
A Malaysian Highway Authority spokesman reported slow moving traffic from Bidor to Tapah, Tapah to Gopeng in Perak and from Senai to Kulaijaya in Johor.
However, traffic heading to the East Coast was reported to be smooth at the Gombak and Bentong toll plazas.
Members of the public can obtain the latest traffic information via toll free PLUSline at 1800-88-0000 and its twitter site at www.twitter.com/plustrafik or LLM line at 1800-88-7752 as well as twitter site at www.twitter.com/llminfotrafik.
Keyword: Smoother drive, thanks to upgraded stretches