Repairs much needed: Poor road conditions can be seen in many parts of Sabah, where the roads have exceeded their lifespan and require major upgrading works.
KOTA KINABALU: Road concessionaires cannot be fully blamed for the poor road conditions in many parts of Sabah, says Datuk Shahelmey Yahya.
The state Works Minister said concessionaires mostly carry out maintenance works as required, but many of these roads were just too old.
“The roads that were recently repaired to welcome Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and his entourage during the Borneo road tour were actually ‘expired’ roads,” he said when contacted.
He said these roads have exceeded their lifespan and require major upgrading works.
Shahelmey said this in response to claims of poor work carried out on the stretches of roads used by the King during His Majesty’s road tour here in September last year.Potholes were seen in many areas of these roads just a few months later.
He said the heavy traffic on many of these roads in Sabah, coupled with the constant rain, resulted in the already damaged roads deteriorating further.
“Even with repairs conducted to fix the potholes, the problem will recur due to the said reasons,” he said.
Shahelmey said the State Works Department is working closely with concessionaires to maintain roads in Sabah to ensure they are safe for road users while waiting for the Pan Borneo Highway project to commence and be completed.
Issues with Sabah’s road conditions were highlighted again after it was believed that a garbage truck driver died while trying to avoid a huge pothole in Kinabatangan on Jan 13.
Mohamad Izuan Mambasang, 39, succumbed to his injuries following the 11am accident at Jalan Kampung Jaya Baru near SK Sentosa Jaya.
Immediate repairs were carried out on the stretch of road after the incident.
