KM48 of Bintulu-Tatau old trunk road caves in
BINTULU: Two lanes of the Bintulu-Tatau old trunk road at KM48 sunk in Monday, rendering the road unusable at around 4.30pm.
Tanjong Batu assemblyman Chiew Chiu Sing, who visited the site yesterday, was told that the Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak project delivery partner ( PDP) for this particular package of the road construction immediately mobilised their machinery and manpower to chip away the slope on the other side of the sunken road, clearing one lane four hours later.
However, the lane only allowed access by small vehicles, Bomba, ambulance and BDA garbage collectors while drivers of big and heavy vehicles were advised to use the Kuala TatauBalingian- Selangau route.
“The two- lane and tar- sealed stretch will be fully completed by this coming Monday. It had been unusable since two nights ago.
“I empathise with those who had got stuck for four hours, waiting while the access road was being repaired. Luckily, no one was hurt during the cavein,” said Chiew after meeting the project manager at the site.
He commended the PDP team for working hard around the clock to ensure access is restored, with help from the police personnel controlling the traffic.
According to Chiew, the PDP team had put up road signs at Jepak junction indicating that road users could use the alternative coastal highway from Kampung Jepak.