KUCHING: Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) chairman Datuk Peter Minos expressed his gratitude towards the Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) governments for projects to alleviate traffic congestion in Samarahan.
He thanked Senior Minister (Works) Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof for his personal intervention in the upgrading works for Jalan Datuk Mohd Musa in Kota Samarahan.
He said that Fadillah had performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the expansion and improvement of the road from 8th Mile Kuching-Serian Road to the G3 roundabout near Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) — with the 11.6km stretch to be improved into a dual carriageway.
“We in Samarahan are very happy that the federal government is doing something,” said Minos in a statement yesterday.
He said that two to three years from now, in addition to the newly improved road, there would also be traffic lights at Samarahan’s three large roundabouts, which would be a great relief to commuters.
Minos stated that at peak hours on working days, Jalan Datuk Mohd Musa would be extremely busy as more than 70,000 people use the road daily.
“Imagine commuters from Serian, Beratok, Tapah, and Kota Sentosa using this road to head to Kuching through Kota Samarahan and back in the evenings,” he said, noting that along the road there were many housing estates, schools, a large army camp, and rows of shops.
He said that since he had been appointed as Walikota of Samarahan in 2016, he had come to know of at least ten fatal accidents on this busy and narrow road.
Minos said that he was not exaggerating about the severe traffic problems in Samarahan, adding, “If you lived and worked here, then you would know the daily pain and suffering caused by these traffic snarls.”
