SHAH ALAM, Sept 30 — Roads more than 20 years old in Selangor will be prioritised for upgrading next year, including resurfacing and refinishing works to improve road user safety.
Infrastructure executive councillor Dato’ Izham Hashim said the works would be carried out in stages, with attention also given to congested roads that are more susceptible to settlement and surface damage.
He hoped the Selangor Budget, which will be tabled in November, would provide additional allocations to accelerate maintenance and upgrading works on the affected roads.
“This time, the focus is on older roads, particularly those more than 20 years old, which generally need to be upgraded. The work will be carried out in stages because funding is limited.
“Congested roads also need attention because much of Selangor’s soil is peat. As a result, roads deteriorate quickly. Simply patching them is not effective.
“That will not solve the problem. We need to repair the road structure before carrying out patching works, which is why additional costs are required,” he told Media Selangor.
This year, RM184 million was allocated for road resurfacing and maintenance works involving roads under the Public Works Department, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, as well as village roads under the Rural Development Programme (PLB).
Izham said RM30 million of the allocation was used to carry out 51 projects under the Mega Resurfacing Programme, while another RM32 million was allocated to local authorities.
This year, the Mega Resurfacing Programme was expanded to village roads and agricultural areas, with the introduction of a new technology from Indonesia known as the Precast Reinforcement System.
The technology has been tested and proven to be more effective in treating roads built on soft soil, particularly in bund areas.
In addition, road maintenance and patching works in Selangor have become more efficient and faster through the use of environmentally friendly Asphalt, Reuse & Recycling (AsRR) machinery.
