Close call for motorists

Huge hole opens up on road after authorities fail to heed residents’ complaints

 

FOR six months, residents of Kampung Pulau Meranti here had complained to the authorities about a gaping hole in the road at the end of a bridge there.

Yesterday, the hole widened and part of the road across a two-lane stretch caved in. Fortunately no one was hurt in the incident particularly since many motorists use the stretch.

Motorists crossing the bridge across Sungai Rasau in Jalan Puchong had earlier felt tremors and saw cracks appearing along the road about 2pm.

They managed to avoid being swallowed up by the gaping 3m-deep and 3m-wide recess in the road.

A resident, who wanted to be known only as Hafiz, said he felt the road shook a little when he drove across.
He said the hole in the road had appeared more than six months ago and the villagers had filed several complaints to the local authorities, but no action was taken.

"The soil under the bridge is unstable and we knew there were problems," he said.

Another resident, Saiful Wan Mohd Rosli, 40, said the people in the area first noticed the cracks along the road last week.

"The road is busy, especially in the morning and in the evening, Luckily, nobody was hurt," he said, adding that the road was mainly used by motorists travelling between Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and Puchong.

Dengkil assemblyman Datuk Marsum Paing said he had alerted the Public Works Department, the Sepang Municipal Council and the Drainage and Irrigation Department.

He said the road was temporarily closed to the public and urged road users to use alternative routes.

 

Source : NewStraitsTimes