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THE Public Works Department (PWD) is trying to decide how best to address the slope failure which is damaging sections of a Kuala Penyu road, while the Papar District Council plans to rehabilitate several stretches around the town, including one leading to a Kinarut neighbourhood.

This action was prompted by feedback from a Kuala Penyu motorist and another from Kinarut about the poor driving experience on Jalan Kg Kiaru, as well as the road between Kg Anak Dua and Taman Limau-Limauan.

They provided Hotline with the pertinent details regarding their grievances. This information was forwarded to the respective agencies.

A PWD spokesman said an inspection was made of Jalan Kg Kiaru on the same day that it learned about the driver’s concerns.

“We confirmed that the edges of the road at Km 5.89 had given way in some places,” he said. 

He explained that the continuous rainfall in this part of the town previously had contributed to the subsidence of the slope on which the stretch was built.

“Due to the movement of the earth, cracks have formed in the concrete walls of the roadside drains. This has allowed the runoff to flow into those areas beneath the asphalt and caused the settlement of the stretch.”

The spokesman said the Department had reverted this part of Jalan Kg Kiaru to an unsealed road as a short-term solution to the problems related to the subsidence.

“The asphalt was removed, with the stretch subsequently being topped up with gravel so that it had a flatter and more even surface. The decision to downgrade the damaged section was taken in the interest of safeguarding drivers and to ease any discomfort they may encounter in using the stretch.”

The agency was also arranging to have warning signs placed at strategic locations to forewarn motorists about the irregular condition of the road. 

He said PWD staff had been asked to check on the state of Jalan Kg Kiaru, from time to time, to ensure that more sections of the road did not destabilise.

“We intend to stabilise the slope in the long term and are putting together a working paper on the proposed repairs which could be enacted. This document will be submitted to our superiors at the Department’s headquarters in Kota Kinabalu.”

Where the road in Kinarut was concerned, the Papar District Council hopes to resurface the section between Kg Anak Dua and Taman Limau-Limauan when it had the requisite funding to do so.

A Council spokesman said it hoped to secure an allocation from the Federal Government to improve this stretch and others under its care.

“We are still waiting to learn if our request to carry out this work will be approved,” he said.

“In the meantime, we have alerted the government concessionaire about the potholes in the road leading to Taman Limau-Limauan and called on the company to make the necessary repairs.”

He said the firm had patched up the damaged sections with premix on several occasions previously.

The Council suspected that heavy vehicles travelling between the village and the neighbourhood had taken a toll on the road, according to him.

The spokesman said its personnel would keep the traffic-flow on the road under observation from time to time.

“If need be, we may seek the assistance of the Road Transport Department (RTD) to crack down on lorry-drivers whose vehicles carry more than their allowed weight.”

Under the RTD’s ordinance, drivers who transport more than the weight-allowance of their vehicles can be deemed to have committed an offence. Offenders risk having to pay a fine of between RM1,000 – RM10,000 serve a prison sentence of up to a year or both.

On a Taman Limau-Limauan rate-payer’s claims about the hearted manner in which the potholes had been attended to, the Council spokesman said the concessionaire would be apprised of this feedback.

The homeowner was under the impression that the company did not intend to patch up the stretch properly. 

He had seen the firm’s workers pouring soil over the potholes and stopped to enquire whether this was the extent of the repairs which they intended to make.

The individual was taken aback to learn that the damaged sections would be left as is and not be sealed with premix. 

The labourers apparently informed him that they would return to top up the soil as and when the present layers were dispersed.