LDP upgrading works to begin next month

THOSE travelling to Puchong and its surrounding areas will be seeing an improvement in the traffic flow as Litrak, the concessionaire for the Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP) will be undertaking a road enhancement project next month. The project, known as LDP Package 5C, will cost RM74mil and include upgrading work along the stretch from Km19 to Km22. The project is expected to be completed in February 2013. Litrak chief executive officer Sazally Saidi said the goal was to help ease the daily evening congestion, especially in Bandar Puchong Jaya. “When LDP was opened in 1999, only 40,000 vehicles used the highway daily. But as of 2010, the number has increased to 400,000,” said Sazally. Under the project, a new system will be implemented whereby the existing lanes will be divided into two sections — lanes catering for mainline traffic and lanes for local traffic. The two sections will be separated by a physical barrier. “The segregation will be done before the Petaling Jaya toll plaza and extend past IOI Mall in Bandar Puchong Jaya,” Sazally said. The two dedicated mainline traffic lanes on the right side of the highway will provide direct access to south-bound areas such as Putrajaya, Bandar Putri and Puchong Perdana, while bypassing the congested areas between Jalan Kenari and Persiaran Puchong Jaya Selatan. Meanwhile, the local traffic lanes on the left side will provide access to areas such as Bandar Puchong Jaya, Shah Alam Expressway, Bukit Jalil and Jalan Klang Lama. “We hope to ease congestion due to weaving traffic by separating the lanes,” said Sazally. He also said Litrak would be building a new flyover near the existing one from IOI Mall towards Sunway. as well as widening the road in front of Bandar Puchong Jaya towards Putrajaya from the existing five lanes to eight. “With the additional three lanes, the highway will be able to accommodate an additional 6,000 vehicles per hour,” he said. Litrak is also planning to acquire land for road expansion at the bottleneck U-turn before Jalan Kenari, as well as widen a stretch of the Bukit Jalil Highway towards Sungai Besi. “We are discussing with the relevant bodies on how we can maximise the project and reduce overall traffic congestion. “If all goes well, we hope to see an improvement of the overall traffic situation by 40%,” he said. source: TheStar