Kajang Mewah residents want a way to avoid crawl in Jalan Semenyih

The Star, Wednesday February 6, 2013

By FARAH FAZANNA ZULZAHA
farahfazanna@thestar.com.my
Photos by ROHAIZAT DARUS

Inconvenient: Kajang Mewah residents currently have to drive 5km after the Bukit Kajang toll plaza to enter their neighbourhood.

 

RESIDENTS of Kajang Mewah want the access into their neighbourhood to be built immediately after the Bukit Kajang toll plaza, instead of via Jalan Semenyih.

Serdang parliamentary liaison officer Datuk Yap Pian Hon said he had received many complaints from residents since the highway opened in 2004.

“Motorists who want to go to Kajang Mewah and its surrounding neighbourhoods have to drive at least 5km and pass through five traffic light junctions along Jalan Semenyih. This causes traffic congestion and it defeats the purpose of building the Kajang Silk Highway,” he said during a press conference recently.

Find a solution: Yap showing a map of the long route currently used by Kajang Mewah residents.

 

According to Yap, road users had to pay RM1 each at the Sungai Ramal and Bukit Kajang toll plazas.

“I have spoken to some of the residents and they do not mind paying the RM1 toll, but they wished that they did not have to drive all the way to Jalan Semenyih when an entrance can be created right after the toll plaza,” he said.

He added that there was, however, an exit from Kajang Mewah into Silk Highway.

“This is why the residents are questioning. If there can be an exit from Kajang Mewah, why can’t there be an entrance as well?”

Yap said he had met with Works Ministry officers and highway concessionaire Silk Hol-dings Berhad, and hoped for a solution soon.

“A reasonable solution can be achieved so that residents can enjoy the convenience of the highway.”

Yap said the highway company’s main concern was that road users would cut through Kajang Mewah and avoid paying RM1 at the Bukit Kajang toll plaza to go to Semenyih if an entrance was built.

“Logically, road users will not want to be caught in the traffic congestion in Jalan Semenyih. Personally, I would rather pay RM1, where it would only take 10 minutes to reach Semenyih, instead of being stuck in traffic for almost an hour,” he said, adding that it would be a win-win situation for road users and Silk.

The neighbourhoods currently affected are Taman Zamrud, Bukit Mutiara, Taman Bukit Mewah 6 and 7, Taman Bukit Ria, Taman Jasmin and Kajang Prima, which collectively have more than 20,000 residents.

At the press conference, Yap also announced that the underpass project in Kajang Utama had been approved by the Works Ministry and the project was under way.

“A seven-member committee, headed by me, will monitor, the project’s progress,” he added.