Sibu MP: Upgrading works on Jln Ulu Sg Merah to kick off next month

SIBU (Jan 14): The upgrading works on Jalan Ulu Sungei Merah to transform it from a two-lane way into one with four lanes, would kick off next month, says Sibu MP Oscar Ling.

According to him, construction would commence immediately once the project is handed over to the appointed contractor.

“We are actually rushing it, as we can see the daily traffic getting more congested and the number of vehicles on the road increasing,” he told reporters when met after inspecting the road project site here yesterday.

Elaborating, Ling attributed such situation to the road being the only exit for motorists heading to the town’s centre.

“This upgrading works is very urgent. Previously, there was no effective solution being undertaken to solve this problem.

“Actually, looking at the current situation, I believe the area definitely needs an alternative road.

“Perhaps, a new road linking to Permai Jaya could be built by the government, or another from Jalan Ulu Sungei Merah to better facilitate those wanting to head to the town’s centre,” he said.

On the flooding problem at Jalan Ulu Sungei Merah, Ling stressed the need for it to be resolved.

“I believe that if we could solve this (flooding problem), we could also reduce traffic congestion.

“My suggestion is to build more culverts along the route.”

On a separate matter, Ling also called for the devolution of power to the local authorities towards enabling them to be more involved in town and road planning.

“I think the state government needs to delegate more power to the local authorities in town planning. Through this devolution, local authorities could be more involved in town and road planning, and at the same time, they could carry out local council elections.”

Adding on, Ling said when the State Planning Authority (SPA) approved housing projects at Jalan Ulu Sungei Merah and in Rantau Panjang, it should have already foreseen that these areas would experience traffic congestion in the future.

“With one small road serving the areas, definitely there would be traffic jams.

“All these should have been predictable and thus, preventable, if the government had done proper planning before implementing the housing projects.”

“Therefore, the authority in town planning needs to be given to the local authorities such as Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) or Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC), for them to carry out the works more effectively,” he said.