PWD to refurbish access roads to Kunak villages
Published on: Thursday, April 04, 2024
By: Sidney Skinner
The concessionaire’s maintenance team in the midst of sealing Jalan Kadazan-Mostyn.
THE Public Works Department (PWD) is weighing up the possibility of refurbishing the access roads to several Kunak villages, while City Hall is in the midst of strategising how best to improve a stretch in the Dah Yeh Villa area.
This follows feedback about the poor condition of Jalan Kadazan-Mostyn in the former district and the uneven surface of Lorong Kenawai in the other.
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The drivers who brought this to Hotline’s attention were fed up with the damage to the undercarriage of their vehicles. They bemoaned the inconvenience and added expenditure they had to shoulder because their cars constantly had to be taken to the workshop.
Their grievances were forwarded to the PWD and City Hall.
A tractor was deployed by the PWD to facilitate in efforts to grade this unsealed section of Jalan Kadazan-Mostyn.
A spokeswoman for the Department’s Kunak branch said it hoped to have the roads leading to Kg Lormalong, Kunak Jaya, Kg Sungai Langgas, Kg Ladang Bugis, Kg Asli, Kg Kadazan and Kg Mostyn upgraded at some point this year.
“But we can only act on this intention if we receive the necessary funds to do so,” she said.
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“A proposal to carry out the road-improvement has been submitted to our headquarters. We are still waiting to learn the outcome of our request.”
In the meantime, she said, the unsealed portions of these stretches were graded from time to time.
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“Gravel is poured over the red earth and later levelled. This is done according to a maintenance cycle.”
In the case of Jalan Kadazan-Mostyn, the spokeswoman said, a check of its records, showed that this road was most recently graded in February.
She said one of the PWD’s concessionaires had been tasked with maintaining the sealed sections of the stretch.
A spokesman for the company said it dealt with the potholes which had formed on the road last month.
“One of staff measured the area involving these defects during a preliminary check.
She said premix was poured over a 100metre length of the road four days later.
The damaged road surface had to be dug up before repairs could be made.
“A six-man team dug up the surface of the affected portion, before applying a new layer of asphalt to part of Jalan Kadazan-Mostyn.”
“In light of these road woes, we decided to step up our surveillance efforts.”
She said repairs had previously been carried out on the road on a periodic basis.
“We have since asked for this to be routinely performed. Our site-supervisors in Kunak have instructed to be more mindful of any irregularities involving Jalan Kadazan-Mostyn.”
She said these personnel went around the district each week to check on the condition of the various stretches which are under the firm’s care.
“Any irregularities are dealt with, on a case by case basis, depending on the severity of the damage observed.”
The spokeswoman said the sealed sections of Jalan Kadazan-Mostyn extended over a span of 604 metres.
Meanwhile City Hall is looking into the inconvenience caused to drivers by a “drop” between the surface of a Dah Yeh Villa road and the metal covers embedded in the stretch.
A spokesman for the agency said personnel with its Traffic and Transport Department had confirmed that several covers had sunken into the road during an inspection earlier this month.
“We are working together with the government concessionaire to come up with a means of resolving this problem,” he said.
GRAVIN said the discrepancy in the height between the surface of the asphalt and the covers on Lorong Kenawai caused vehicles to jolt as they moved up and down the stretch.
She estimated that the covers had sunken “between three to four inches” into the road.
“The smaller the vehicle, the bigger the jolt the driver will experience,” she said.
She bemoaned the damage caused to her vehicle from going over the covers.
“I have forked out a substantial sum in repairs to my car because of this problem.”
Gravin claimed that the covers had not been sitting properly on the housing road “for years”.
“Earlier this year, I saw some workers beginning to raise the level of the covers on the road.
“But, this was only done for some covers while others were left as they were. So, we still feel the jolts in some parts of the stretch.”
She hoped the relevant agency would consider making all the covers level with the surface of the road to provide those living in the area with a better driving experience.
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