Concerns have arisen that cracks on a stretch of the Federal Route 185 along Jalan Simpang Pulai-Blue Valley could worsen if rain continues at the location, said Perak menteri besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad according to a report by The Star.

The concerns come after a landslide occurred along a stretch on this road on Saturday, September 18, which led to its closure to all vehicles, reported Bernama. Initial investigations have found 30 cm-long cracks in the road at the site, with continuous rain the likely cause, which would have caused the soil structure to become weak and unstable and thus leading to the collapse, said the minister.

“The Kinta public works department (JKR) received a report on the incident at about 5:20pm on Saturday and took immediate action with the concessionaire to prepare a traffic management plan at the location,” Saarani said at the scene yesterday according to the news report.

Motorists can instead use Federal Route 59 that is the Jalan Tapah-Cameron Highlands stretch as an alternative, though Perak JKR director Zulkipli Nasri said that the temporary route would only be opened to light vehicles after further investigations have been completed. The government had allocated RM130 million to re-align a 600 m route at the location, and this was planned for implementation in December, said Zulkipli.

According to the Kinta district JKR at the time shortly after the incident, the landslide involved a 30 metre stretch of road with a depth of 4.57 metres.