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Projects will cut down on traffic chaos

Projects will cut down on traffic chaos
[ 27-12-2010 ]
Projects will cut down on traffic chaos

Projects will cut down on traffic chaos

2010/11/29
AHMAD FAIRUZ OTHMAN
ahmadfairuz@nst.com.my

A medium-term link will be built to replace the short-term access road.

A medium-term link will be built to replace the short-term access road.

THE ongoing road and expressway projects in southern Johor will improve traffic flow in the state capital and its suburbs, benefiting residents and businesses.

Among the major projects are the Coastal Highway connecting Johor Baru and Nusajaya, Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) connecting the North-South Expressway (NSE) and the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) at the Causeway.

The 15km six-lane Coastal Highway project, which is estimated to cost RM1.1 billion, is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Iskandar Malaysia.


Upon completion in December next year, the highway will help to reduce travel time from Johor Baru's central business district to Nusajaya from 45 minutes to less than 10 minutes.

The Coastal Highway project is spearheaded by Iskandar Investment Bhd, a Khazanah Nasional-linked company.

According to the Iskandar Waterfront website, the highway will have eight interchanges.


There will be one each in Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, Danga, Taman Perling, Bukit Indah, Kota Iskandar and Nusajaya, and two at the Legoland Malaysia theme park,

There will be a bridge at Sungai Kempas and another that cuts across Sungai Skudai and Sungai Danga.

The Coastal Highway is expected to be toll free.


The 8.1km EDL, expected to open in February 2012, will cost RM1 billion.

The highway concession was awarded to MRCB Lingkaran Selatan Sdn Bhd (MLSSB) by the Federal Government.

It will link the NSE from Pandan, Johor Baru, and cut through the city's eastern suburbs to the CIQ.

Recently, MRCB chief executive officer Mohamed Razeek Hussain said the project was 60 per cent complete. He said nearly 500 workers and 30 subcontractors were working round-the-clock on the project.

Lately, there have calls to revive the aborted bridge project to replace the Malaysian part of the Causeway.

The Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, has added his voice to the issue twice this year -- during his annual Kembara Mahkota tour and birthday speech.

His late father, Sultan Iskandar, had floated the idea during the opening of the state assembly in 2006.

While the Federal Government mulls over the project's revival, there have been some good news for the 135,000 motorists who commute between Johor and Singapore daily.

It was announced recently that a 1.2km medium-term link would be built to connect the CIQ with the Causeway. It replaces the heavily-congested short-term access road.

As we bear with the inconveniences caused by the projects, let us remember that they will lead to improved traffic in the near future.

 
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