KUALA LUMPUR: Plus Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) will activate its “SmartLane” at five critical locations along its expressways to help alleviate traffic congestion expected during the upcoming Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration.
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PLUS operations senior general manager Mohd Yusuf Abdul Aziz said the SmartLane will be activated at selected stretches between Port Dickson Interchange to Seremban Interchange between kilometre (km) 260.0 to KM263.1 northbound and Senai Utara Interchange to Kulai Interchange between KM19.0 to KM27.0 northbound.
Other locations include the Gua Tempurung to Gopeng stretch (KM306.7 to KM297.0 – Northbound), the Slim River to Sungkai stretch (KM367.3 to KM354.1 – Northbound), and the Rawang Rest and Service Area – Sungai Buaya Interchange (KM439.9 to KM435.5 – Northbound).
“At these SmartLane locations, highway users will be allowed to temporarily enter and drive on the emergency lane before being directed back to the main lanes to continue their journey.
“However, users are strictly prohibited from driving on the emergency lanes at other locations where the SmartLane is not activated,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (June 27).
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He said PLUS is also proactively making other preparations to manage the surge in traffic through various approaches to ensure that highway users can enjoy safer and smoother journeys during the festive seasons.
“We anticipate approximately two million vehicles to be on the PLUS highways during Aidiladha, especially on peak days, namely June 28 (Wednesday) and July 1 (Saturday), representing a 12 per cent increase compared to the usual 1.7 million vehicles per day on regular days,” he added.
Among other measures taken by PLUS to handle the expected traffic surge are increasing PLUSRonda teams to conduct additional patrols on the highways; temporarily suspending road maintenance works between June 24 and July 3; issuing Travel Time Advisory (TTA) schedule which can be referred to on the PLUS website or all PLUS social media channels; and providing latest traffic information through electronic boards on the highways, radio stations, PLUSTrafik Twitter, social media platforms, and the PUTRI Chatbot.
PLUS also advised highway users to ensure that they use the same payment mode when entering and exiting the highway to avoid inconvenience at the toll plazas. – Bernama