KUALA LUMPUR: The police and PLUS Bhd have activated two smartlane routes on the North-South Expressway (NSE) to address congestion as travellers return to the Klang Valley after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday.
Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director Comm Datuk Seri Mat Kasim Karim said the two routes, northbound, involved the Port Dickson interchange at KM259 to the Seremban interchange (KM263), and the Senai interchange (KM19) to Kulai interchange (KM27).
“The high volume of vehicles from the south, north and east towards the capital city has caused congestion at some places, such as the hilly areas and the convergence of three to two lanes.
“Our officers, including personnel and drone units, are located on the highways and roads, where congestion occurred to ensure smooth and controlled traffic flow,” he said in a statement yesterday, Bernama reported.
The smartlane system aims to optimise the use of all lanes, including opening the left-most space as a temporary lane, to increase lane capacity to facilitate traffic flow.
Comm Mat Kasim urged travellers to channel information related to accidents or unusual congestion to the Bukit Aman traffic control room at 03-2266 3356, which operates round the clock.
Meanwhile, the department said 1,381 accidents involving 2,072 vehicles of various types were recorded nationwide on the fourth day (Sunday) of Ops Selamat 20, a seven-day traffic safety operation that began on April 20.
Among the accidents, 73.7% or 1,528 cases involved cars, followed by motorcycles (256), four-wheel drives (122), multi-purpose vehicles (102 cases), vans (43), lorries (13), buses (five) and taxis (three), it announced on its Facebook page.
As at 5pm yesterday, heavy traffic was reported on major highways.
A Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) spokesman said heavy traffic had been reported in the southbound direction from the Port Dickson interchange to the Senawang R&R area, the Ayer Keroh R&R to Ayer Keroh, the Yong Peng rest stop to South Yong Peng, Ayer Hitam to Simpang Renggam and Sedenak to Kulai.
“Slow and heavy traffic has been reported on the northbound route from Kulai to the Kulai rest stop, Sedenak to Ayer Hitam, Bukit Gambir to Tangkak, Ayer Keroh to Simpang Ampat, Pedas Linggi, the Senawang R&R to Persimpangan Port Dickson and Bandar Ainsdale to the Seremban R&R,” the spokesman added.
Similar traffic conditions were also reported on the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway from the Karak interchange to the Bentong toll plaza until Lentang, as well as from Bukit Tinggi to Genting Sempah.
Those who wish to obtain the latest traffic information can contact PLUSline’s toll-free line at 1800-88-0000 or Twitter (@plus trafik) or the LLM hotline at 1800-88-7752 or Twitter (@llminfo trafik).
