Transport Minister: SK Tudan overhead bridge to be completed by Aug

MIRI (May 20): The RM6.5-million pedestrian bridge project in front of Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Tudan is expected to be completed and opened to the public in early August this year.

In stating this, state Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin said the project as of yesterday was almost 87 per cent complete and some improvements would be made by the contractor to make it more user-friendly.

“I have asked the contractor to raise the fence of the overpass for safety purposes as well as install a roof on the walkway for pedestrians and people with disabilities (PwD),” he said when inspecting the site today.

Noting the overpass has a ramp for disabled users which should be properly covered based on the original plan of the project, he asked the Public Works Department (JKR) to install roofs along the path and stairs to protect users from the sun and rain.

“I have also asked them to install a culvert near this bridge to improve the drainage system which is below par at the moment,” he said.

Lee, who is Senadin assemblyman, said the project will benefit SK Tudan students as well as residents of nearby villages to walk to the nearby shopping area safely while parents and guardians can drop off their children on the other side of the road without having to make a long U-turn.

It was awarded to Technicorps Builder Sdn Bhd through an open tender after it was approved following a request by the school headmaster in 2016 and after several follow-ups by Lee with JKR.

“To facilitate disabled users’ mobility, in addition to providing normal stairs, this is the first disabled people-friendly pedestrian overpass in Miri that has a long ramp and that’s why the project is costly,” he explained.

SK Tudan has about 1,300 students, and traffic congestion occurs daily at noon during the interval between morning and afternoon sessions.