TAIPING: Section 11 of the West Coast Expressway (WCE) from Beruas to Taiping (South) will be opened to road users before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) Deputy Director General (Development) Ir Ts Dr Nadzrol Fadzilah Ahmad said LLM needed to ensure that this expressway was safe before opening it.
"We have our target and we know that people are eager to use this section to avoid traffic congestion. However, the safety factor is our priority.
"We can't open this section before Chinese New Year but I am confident this section can be used before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, which is the first quarter of this year," she said.
Nadzrol Fadzilah said this at a press conference after joining a tour to visit the construction of Section 11 here today. Also present were Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad and West Coast Expressway (WCE) Holdings Bhd chief executive officer Lyndon Alfred Felix.
Section 11 which is 35.5km long complements the WCE Expressway line in the state section.
Asked if road users would be charged a toll fee once it is opened, Nadzrol Fadzillah said as usual, road users could expect to enjoy toll-free for a month.
When asked about the reason for the delay in the opening of Section 11, Lyndon explained that construction progress had reached 98 per cent by Dec 31, last year.
"We are now entering inspection level from LLM and this section construction has reached 98 per cent completed.
"We need to go through this phase (inspection) before this section can be opened to all road users," he added.
As of today, five of the total 11 sections of WCE expressway routes have been opened to traffic namely Section 5 (Klang-Kapar) and Section 6 (Kapar-Assam Java) in Selangor while Section 8 (Hutan Melintang-Teluk Intan), Section 9 (Kg Lekir-Changkat Cermin) and Section 10 (Changkat Mirror-Beruas) in Perak.
WCE connects two states namely Selangor and Perak, focussing on the west coast coastal areas including the Federal Route.
Meanwhile, Saarani said the construction work in Section 11 was already underway and is nearing completion before opening to traffic.
"This expressway is important because it will be a strategic route to expand the transport network, not only between towns and districts but also Perak's connectivity with economic growth centres – starting from Port Klang, Lumut Port and Penang Port.
"This route is also important because it is a catalyst for Perak's planning to drive socio-economic growth along the west coast in addition to changing Perak's tourism landscape by facilitating access to strategic destinations in line with the Visit Perak Year 2024 campaign.
"When it opens later, road users will have alternative routes to the existing roads to the west coast areas in Perak such as Teluk Intan, Manjung, Pulau Pangkor, Beruas, Trong, Changkat Jering and Taiping," he added.