Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing
KUCHING: The Infrastructure Development and Transportation Ministry will build gantries on three roads, namely Miri-Marudi Road, Metading Road and Bintulu-Sungai Asap Road to prevent heavy and over-loaded vehicles from damaging the roads.
Its minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing said these three roads are among the most costliest roads to maintain as records have shown that once they were repaired, they would be immediately damaged again by heavy vehicles carrying logs or oil palm fruits.
Masing who is also Deputy Chief Minister was responding to The Borneo Post’s recent article ‘A bone-jarring, nerve-wracking journey to Marudi’ which described the poor condition of Miri-Marudi Road.
The 44km-road which was described as ‘a bumpy, bone-shattering, potholed and washboard muddy road’ has been the biggest pain and grouse for the people of Marudi.
“The Miri-Marudi Road is built for regular cars and not heavy vehicles. However, heavy vehicles carrying logs and palm oil have been using it, thus ruining it immediately after upgrading.”
“It is one of the problematic roads like the Bintulu-Sungai Asap Road and Metading Road that are constantly damaged by heavy vehicles. We may repair it but in a short while, it will be damaged by heavy vehicles.”
“The government has approved RM77 million for the upgrading of the Miri-Marudi Road. To prevent it from being damaged by heavy vehicles, like the Bintulu-Sungai Asap Road, we will build gantries to stop heavy overweight vehicles from using it.”
“We have limited resources. We can’t be repairing these roads all the time,” Masing told The Borneo Post yesterday.
On the retaliation act of the drivers of heavy vehicles where they ran over the gantries along the Bintulu-Sungai Asap Road to protest against the government’s action of stopping them to overload their long vehicles, Masing said he anticipated that.
“They can run over the gantries and we will build some more. They ruin one, we build one,” he said.
He believed roads are public property and road users should use them with consideration and care to ensure the comfort and safety of other road users.
“Roads are public property. It is not meant for some to destroy while other taxpayers have to continue to come up with the money to repair it.”
“If there are drivers who can’t respect public property such as roads, they might as well not be allowed to use them,” said Masing.
He said upgrading of the Miri-Marudi Road is ongoing and as the minister-in-charge, he would personally make a road inspection trip there at the end of this month.
“We have to handle it (the road) because it is a pity if we ignore Marudi, a major town in the heartland of Baram,” said Masing.
Between improving the road or the airstrip, it has been the choice of the ministry to spend on the road.
“I prefer to use the money on the road than on the airstrip but on the condition that heavy vehicles must not be allowed to spoil the road again,” Masing said.