IPOH: The construction of four interchanges along the West Coast Expressway (WCE), from Banting-Taiping, may not be ready before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) director-general Datuk Aziz Abdullah said postponement was possible as there was still some work that needed to be done to ensure the stretch was safe for motorists.
However, he said all parties were working round-the-clock to ensure that the construction of the four interchanges - three in Perak and one in Selangor - could be completed as soon as possible.
“We will open it (WCE) once all the works have been completed. We don't want to open it temporarily (just for Hari Raya celebrations) and then closed it again. Doing so will only spark anger among road users,” he said when contacted today.
The three packages in Perak covered Hutan Melintang to Teluk Intan (19.1 km), Lekir to Changkat Chermin (28km) and Changkat Chermin to Beruas (16.6km). The Selangor's package only involved the northern side of the state.
In February, West Coast Expressway Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Neoh Soon Hiong had said that the company expected five interchanges of the WCE to be opened to road users before Hari Raya.
The opening however was subject to the Federal government's approval.
Aziz said that when the four interchanges were open, it will only cater to residents living along the expressway.
He said the move would not affect the traffic flow on the North-South Expressway (NSE) during the Hari Raya period.
When complete, WCE would relive the traffic on the NSE to the northern states of the peninsula and back.
The 223km WCE stretches from Jalan Banting-KLIA (B18) to the Tanjong Karang interchange (93.8km) in Selangor and from Jalan Persekutuan (FR5) in Hutan Melintang to the Changkat Jering Plaza Toll (139.2km) in Perak.
