Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

THE Public Works Department (PWD) is in the midst of dealing with the damage to a section of Kilometre 1, Jalan Lumatai in Beaufort 

A PWD spokesman said there was reason to believe that water ponding on the stretch, as well as erosion of the soil on the road-shoulder, had contributed to this problem.

“We have appointed a contractor to carry out some slope-protection work, after which the necessary repairs will be made,” he said

When asked about a tentative time line for restoration of the road, he declined to comment.

“We will make regular follow-ups with the contractor, tasked with attending to the slope, to gauge the progress of this endeavour.” 

A spokeswoman for a government concessionaire with the Department said, over the past month, it had been intermittently dealing with the irregularities involving the asphalt on a 34-metre span of Jalan Lumatai.

She said the firm noticed that settlement had taken place on the stretch which had a width of 3.2m.

“The level of the road dropped by about 0.2m, with cracks splitting the surface in places,” she said.

A six-man team from the company patched up the cracks in the first week of September, according to her.

“Premix was poured over the damage. The affected sections of the stretch were subsequently sealed.”

The spokeswoman said the condition of the road deteriorated two weeks later, when it flooded during the heavy rains which fell over the Malaysia Day long weekend.

“Traffic signs were put up to alert drivers about the uneven surface. One of the two lanes was later closed off, per advice from the PWD’s office in Beaufort.”

She said the Slope Divison with the latter took over efforts to rehabilitate the stretch, following this closure.

Both spokespersons were responding to feedback about the traffic hazards posed by “huge cracks” in the section of Jalan Lumatai, near a café-cum-carwash in this part of the district.

MOHAN of Beaufort said the deep trenches, which had formed between the collapsed section and the existing road, were especially dangerous for drivers of small vehicles. 

He called on the local authorities to expedite the repairs before something unpleasant occurred and lives were lost.

“It has been raining heavily on and off for the past few months,” he said. “Each time it does, motorists become fearful that the rest of the road might give way.

“If this happens, motorists will be unable to make use of the shortcut to Kg Luagan, not to mention the new bridge in the area.”

Mohan was under the impression that the road woes stemmed from the erosion of the riverbank in the vicinity.

“I hope the relevant agency will look into the putting up a gabion wall to prevent more of this land from being washed away by the strong currents of the Padas River.”

 He provided Hotline with the pertinent details regarding the road woes, which were forwarded to the PWD and Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID).

A DID spokesman said a check was made of the riverbank, near the affected section on Jalan Lumatai, on the same day that the agency was contacted by the media.

“Two of our senior engineers verified that tracts of the land beside the Padas River had indeed been washed away,” he said.

“They also had a word with an excavator operator who happened to be at the site during this check. This technician was undertaking protection work for the PWD.”

He said the DID had conducted a “kajian tebatan banjir (flood mitigation study)” around the district earlier this year.

“The findings from this study helped us identify the “hotspots” where erosion has been taking place along the river.  We have come up with several potential strategies to minimise, if not arrest, this problem.”

He said the agency was trying to decide whether to alter the course of the river, raise the level of the riverbanks or have pumps installed  

“Whichever plan is implemented will depend on the funds made available for this purpose.” 

To this end, the spokesman said, the Department had applied for an allocation under the under the “Rancangan Malaysia ke-13 (Thirteenth Malaysia Plan)” to carry out the necessary improvements on the river.

“We are still waiting to learn the outcome of this request.”