RM5 mln for urgent road repairs on KK-Sandakan road

SANDAKAN (July 13): The Works Ministry has approved RM5 million to carry out immediate repair work at five locations on the Kota Kinabalu-Sandakan road in Telupid district, said Deputy Minister Datuk Arthur Kurup.

He said the repair to the damaged roads involved Sections 173-174, 174-175, 175-170, 176-177 and 143-144 of the federal roads, covering paving work, which is expected to be completed by the end of next month.

Arthur said the repair works were only a short-term solution to overcome the difficulties faced by road users due to poor road conditions such as potholes.

“In addition, the 28, 29 and 30 work packages under the Pan Borneo Highway at Batu 32 route until Sungai Baoto also involved a short-term solution with urgent road repair works with an estimated allocation of RM5.5 million.

“The repair works have started early this month, with critical location will be repaired first and is expected to be ready within two months,” he told reporters after chairing the Jalan Telupid-Sandakan Special Task Force meeting here on Wednesday.

For the medium-term solution, Arthur said the meeting also discussed on traffic management plans at the project site to ensure that the contractor always complied with the road safety aspect during construction.

“The speed limit during the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway will be reduced from 90 kilometres per hour (km/h) to 40 km/h to reduce road accident risks,” he added.

Arthur said the Pan Borneo Highway was the government’s long-term plan to provide safe and comfortable infrastructure facilities in Sabah.

“Other initiatives by the government, including ensuring that the federal roads are in a good and well-maintained condition in accordance with the set procedures and standards.

“This effort reflects the federal government’s commitment to developing a planned, systematic and efficient road infrastructure network for Keluarga Malaysia in Sabah,” he said. — Bernama