KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 — Traffic flow on several major expressways nationwide showed an upward trend, with slow-moving traffic reported following a rise in the number of vehicles heading towards the Klang Valley as of 4pm today.
The Malaysian Highway Authority's (LLM) Traffic Management Centre supervisor Muhammad Aliff Syafiq Md Takiyudin said congestion was detected on routes heading north, south, and along the east coast.
“In the southern sector, northbound traffic was reported to be slow from Ayer Keroh heading towards Simpang Ampat, as well as from Pedas Linggi to Senawang and onwards to Port Dickson.
“For the northern route, slow movement was detected around Penang, from Permatang Pauh to Perai, as well as at Menora and from Gopeng to Tapah,” he told Bernama at the LLM Traffic Management Centre today.
Traffic flow from the east coast via the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway was also slow from Karak and Bentong, heading towards Lentang and Bukit Tinggi, including before entering the Gombak Toll Plaza towards the Middle Ring Road 2.
Commenting on traffic disruptions, Aliff said several incidents involving broken-down vehicles had contributed to congestion, including in the northern sector after the Menora Tunnel, heading towards the city centre, which caused a traffic build-up of about 7km.
“In addition, an incident involving a broken-down lorry near Ayer Keroh also caused slow-moving traffic for about 12km from Jasin to Simpang Ampat,” he said.
Meanwhile, two bush fire incidents were also reported near the highways, namely at KM110 of the North-South Expressway from Sungai Petani Selatan to Bertam, and at KM21.6 of the Maju Expressway from Seri Kembangan to Putrajaya.
“Both incidents resulted in the left lane being blocked to allow firefighting operations to be carried out,” Aliff said.
Motorists are advised to plan their journeys by referring to the travel time advisory issued by the highway concessionaires, or by contacting the LLM toll-free hotline at 1-800-88-7752 for the latest traffic updates.
