BINTULU, July 7 — The Works Ministry is awaiting the approval for Jalan Bakun upgrading and rehabilitation project allocations under the Fourth Rolling Plan of the 12th Malaysia Plan, said Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.
He said the main scope of the project was to upgrade the 128.46 km two-way single-carriageway that is more than 20 years old, exceeding the standard lifespan for roads in the country which is seven years.
However, he said due to the financial constraints faced by the government, the allocations for the project will not be sufficient to repair the whole stretch.
“Therefore we will focus on critical areas such as Km 45 which is 7 km long. The amount required to repair the road is RM15 million,” he told reporters when visiting the project site near the Jalan Bakun junction today.
He said the ministry has also carried out routine maintenance for the federal road with an estimated allocation of RM4 million per year, adding that RM17.8 million has been allocated for the concessionaire to carry out pavement and non-pavement works from 2018 to 2023.
Nanta also said the concessionaire has also patched up potholes on the road as a short-term solution under routine maintenance works, adding that between January and May this year a total of 762 repair works on the badly damaged road had been carried out with three work instructions totalling RM6 million issued.
He attributed the problem to overloaded heavy vehicles such as lorries carrying logs, palm oil and fertilisers that often use the route, among other things.
“We used to have overhead gantries so that heavy vehicles don’t carry extra loads, but the vehicles would smash into them,” he said.
Nanta said they would carry out further enforcement measures including putting up sign boards so that drivers could no longer give excuses of not knowing the load or speed limit.
He appealed to the owners of heavy vehicles to comply with the load limit to ensure a longer lifespan of the road for the comfort of all road users.
