The works ministry (KKR) is considering the upgrading and beautification proposal for the FT003 route, the Johor Bahru-Endau road that involves accident-prone and flood-affected areas near it, Bernama has reported. The FT003 route serves as a major connecting road from Kota Tinggi to Mersing, as well as for the states along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
This project involves the upgrading and beautifying of road sections from Section 106 to Section 118, and is expected to incur an estimated cost of more than RM100 million, said works minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi. The works ministry intends to endorse the proposal after discussions with the state public works department (JKR) and studies on the project have been carried out, the minister said.
“We consider this project crucial for the safety of lives because some sections of this route are deemed black spots where accidents frequently occur, resulting in significant loss of life. The accident rate is very high, so we are endorsing it for the Fifth Rolling Plan, and the estimated cost is also substantial, exceeding RM100 million, the minister said after inspecting the route.
According to JKR data from January 1, 2021 to December 10, 2023, a total of 103 accidents were recorded on the FT003 route that stretches from Kota Tinggi border in Johor to Rompin in Pahang. Of these 103 accidents, 27 of these cases involved fatalities, reported Bernama.
The route where upgrades have been proposed frequently experiences flooding, highlighting the importance of the project, Nanta said. The road upgrading proposal is a continuation of efforts towards raising the road level of route FT003 (Kota Tinggi to Mersing), that has an estimated cost of RM120 million. This funding had been approved in the Fourth Rolling Plan of the 12th Malaysia Plan, the minister added.
At present, the four locations in Kota Tinggi along this route which have been identified as flood-prone are Section 47 to Section 49 (near the Rubber Board of Malaysia), Section 55 to Section 56 (Kim Long), Section 59 to Section 61 (Yatama City), and Section 71 to Section 72 (Risda).
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