Mandate restoration of warning devices for all road works, says S’wak DAP man

KUCHING (Dec 29): The government’s contract with road contractors should mandate the restoration of warning devices before the project is considered complete, said a Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak man.

Soo Tien Ren, a special assistant to Sarawak DAP chairman and Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen, said if these devices are treated as separate projects, road renovation contractors may disregard them, thus delaying the reinstallation of warning devices indefinitely.

“In such cases, who should be held responsible for the accidents, the government or the contractors?” he said in a statement.

Following complaints by members of the public, Soo yesterday visited a junction at Taman How Ching and Taman Regal, in front of the Thai Temple along Jalan Stephen Yong here, to witness the setting up of an effigy by the residents there to function as a danger alert device for incoming motorists.

“The locals erected it with good intention to alert the public. Jalan Stephen Yong has seen five traffic accidents this month. As widely known, the road in front of the Thai Temple along Jalan Stephen Yong was recently renovated, and the construction has just been completed.

“However, starting from December after the road renovation was finished, there have been frequent occurrences of traffic accidents on this stretch of the road,” he said.

Soo said according to the residents, the road segment has had a history of frequent accidents even before the renovation, and that complaints have been previously filed with Padawan Municipal Council.

“In response to the residents’ demands, the council installed warning pillars and speed bumps, which significantly reduced the frequency of traffic accidents.

“However, after the road renovation was completed, the previously-installed warning tools such as the pillars and speed bumps were removed by the contractor.

“Upon discovering this, the residents immediately requested the contractor to reinstall the warning pillars and speed bumps, but the contractor did not take any action to reinstate these safety measures,” Soo claimed.

He said to make matters worse, at least five traffic accidents have occurred in the area since the completion of the renovation works, with one each on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Soo claimed the main cause of these traffic accidents lies in the fact that when heading from the intersection of Jalan Stephen Yong towards MJC, the road effectively narrows from three lanes to two, with the third lane turning into an exit towards the right.

However, due to the lack of clear demarcation through road dividers, many motorists only notice the lane division too late, resulting in collisions with the road dividers, he said.

“It was understood that in one of these accidents, a vehicle crossed onto the opposite lane, fortunately without encountering any other vehicles; otherwise, the consequences could have been catastrophic.

“This situation is more hazardous immediately after the road renovation, as vehicles tend to accelerate more freely,” he added.

In this regard, Soo called on all road contractors to automatically restore previously installed warning devices.

“Consequently, I urged the city council and the government to include the restoration of road warning devices as a condition in the bidding standards for road renovation projects.

“They (complainants) demand that contractors must reinstate previous warning devices after road renovations are completed, rather than solely focusing on the renovation contract and neglecting the warning devices as part of the road infrastructure.”