Early drive back to city, but still caught in highway jams
TAPAH: Many holidaymakers have chosen to return a day earlier in a bid to beat the jams.
While traffic was slow moving at several stretches along the North-South Expressway, many felt this was still better than being caught in a snarl.
Yesterday, among the stretches with heavy traffic were those near the Menora Tunnel, Simpang Pulai, Gua Tempurung and Tapah in Perak.
Lorry driver Mohamad Nizam Abdul Karim said he chose to travel back a day earlier to Rembau from his hometown in Gopeng.
“I expect the congestion (roday) to be bad. Travelling back earlier also allows me to have a day to rest before starting work tomorrow,” said the 33-year-old.
Mohamad Nizam added that the journey went smoothly except for the stretch near Gua Tempurung.
“I’m not sure why it was jammed in that area. It was bumper-to-bumper traffic and moving very slowly,” he said, adding that he and his family had spent four days in their hometown.
“After about 15 minutes, the traffic was back to normal,” he added.
Malaysians are currently enjoying a stretch of public holidays, from National Day on Thursday, followed by Hari Raya Haji on Friday and then the weekend.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had also declared today a public holiday in appreciation of the outstanding achievements of the Malaysian contingent in the 29th SEA Games.
Factory worker Mohd Hanafi Mat Nor, 46, said his initial plan was to return from Kedah to Klang today, but he changed his mind at the last minute.
“I started driving at about 9am and expect to arrive in Klang by about 3pm. The journey was alright except for the stretch before the Menora Tunnel,” he said when met at the rest area in Tapah.
“There was an accident there, causing quite a bad congestion. Traffic was better after the tunnel,” he added.
A retiree in his 60s, who declined to be named, said he was returning to Kuala Lumpur after visiting a friend in Ipoh over the weekend.
“The traffic was heavy on certain stretches but otherwise okay.
“I think it’s to be expected as many people are returning home to avoid being caught in a traffic snarl,” he said.
A contractor, who wanted to be known only as Govindran, said traffic at certain stretches was at a crawl due to heavy vehicles and slow-moving cars.
“I also saw some motorists who were driving at 60kph, which was slowing down the traffic,” said the 44-year-old, who was travelling back to Johor from Penang.
“I understand the need for safety, but it’s inconveniencing the motorists.”
By late afternoon, a check on PLUS’ Twitter account showed that traffic conditions had worsened, with crawls reported between the Ipoh Utara toll interchange and the Tapah rest area, as well as between Bidor and Slim River.
In Baling, traffic towards Betong, Thailand, at the border in Pengkalan Hulu was smooth flowing and operations were normal despite a constant line of traffic at the Immigration Department’s checkpoint.
An officer, who declined to be named, said traffic was heavy on Saturday, with some vehicles forced to wait for up to three hours.
“I think most of them have returned and traffic is back to normal with a waiting time of just about 15 minutes,” he added.