SIBU: Road users heading to Bintulu from Sibu and vice-versa have been asked to use the alternative coastal route of Selangau-Mukah-Kuala Tatau-Simpang after KM49 of Jalan Bintulu-Sibu was cut off by a landslide on Monday evening.
In the meantime, the contractor for the Pan Borneo Highway is also busy building a temporary diversion to re-route traffic flow.
The one-lane temporary road, however, is accessible only by light vehicles.
State Disaster Management Committee Secretariat spokesman Major Ismail Mahedin said the landslide began at 4.39pm following a heavy downpour on Monday night.
“At 4.45pm, only one lane could be accessed and the road was fully closed at 6pm,” he said, adding that the site of the landslide was about 24km from the town of Tatau heading towards Bintulu.
He said the temporary lane would be reopened to traffic, monitored by traffic police and Pan Borneo Highway Safety Team, from 8.30pm to reduce heavy traffic along the route.
“Today the contractor will also be doing piling work to prevent further erosion,” he added.
Meanwhile, he said the Public Works Department would also urgently send an independent investigation team to the erosion site to identify the actual cause of the erosion.
