A landslide at one of the stretches of the road.
MARUDI: Motorists plying the Miri-Marudi road are advised to be extra careful because several stretches have been hit by soil erosion following heavy rainfall.
Four landslides have occurred along the road, including in two sections where portions of the road had collapsed and the rest were minor soil movement.
Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing Datu Dr Penguang Manggil anticipates higher traffic volume during weekends and the coming Christmas and New Year holidays and urged road users to exercise extra care.
Penguang said he is addressing the situation for the safety of road users and apologised for the inconvenience caused.
“I have also discussed with JKR (Public Works Department) on the possibility of looking for an alternative route and building a higher grade road as it is almost impossible to upgrade the existing road following the existing alignment because of the difficult and hilly terrain,” the Marudi assemblyman said.
A section of the Miri-Marudi road hit by landslide.
Meanwhile, he had requested JKR to put up more road signage and safety measures.
On Dec 3, Penguang had instructed JKR to take remedial measures following his visit to the site with the road maintenance team.
The assistant minister in the middle of this year had also requested the department to repair the damaged road shoulders, for which approval is pending.
Heavy rains in June this year caused cracks along numerous sections of the 43.2km Miri-Marudi road which was paved before the Chinese New Year in Feb this year.
The state government in the run-up to the last state election in 2016 approved the RM77.4-million enhancement project, which involved slope trimming, elevating flood prone sections, laying a stone-gravel base (known as stoning) and tar-sealing of the road surface.
The road was initially built under the Jiwa Murni project undertaken by the military engineering corps.
Upon completion, the narrow and windy road was welcomed by users but its condition deteriorated over time, and former chief minister the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem approved the rehabilitation project before the last state election.