KUANTAN: The Federal Government has agreed to implement the project to widen the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway (KLK), which is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2024, as a long-term measure to reduce traffic congestion in the area.

Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said the project, which is set to be carried out by concessionaire Anih Berhad, involves the alignment starting from the Gombak Toll Plaza to the intersection of Lingkaran Tengah Utama, Bentong.

He said the project also involves the construction of another tunnel, improvements to the road shoulder and providing street lights throughout the route for the safety and comfort of road users.

He added that the state government had taken note of the traffic congestion at the KLK Expressway, especially from the Bentong Toll Plaza to the Gombak Toll Plaza, spanning 42 kilometres (km), which frequently occurs during festive season, public holidays and weekends.

"For that, I have called Syarikat Anih Berhad and the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) to give a briefing and discuss measures to resolve the congestion at the state Executive Council Meeting (MMK) today (yesterday).

"To ease the congestion, several measures have been identified and will be implemented comprising long-term and short-term projects and it is hoped that with the implementation of these projects, traffic congestion on the KLK Expressway can be tackled and reduced," he said in a statement.

As a short-term move, he said several approaches have been and will be taken, including scheduling improvement works during non-peak hours and implementing lane segregation at the Gombak Toll Plaza (westbound) according to the destinations (Batu Caves/Ampang) to reduce the issue of 'weaving'.

This is in addition to the provision of two tidal flow locations (KM55-59 eastbound and KM60-56 westbound), with the implementation being subject to traffic dispersion on both sides achieving a traffic ratio of 70-30 (west-east) to avoid congestion.

-- BERNAMA