KOTA KINABALU, June 23 — Contractors have been directed to install more signages along sections of the Pan Borneo Highway currently under construction, to reduce risks of road accidents, said Sabah Law and Native Affairs Minister Datuk Aidi Moktar.
He said road signs are important to ensure motorists are not confused with construction works along the highway.
“Apart from that, the police need to monitor accident-prone Pan Borneo Highway areas more frequently, such as Kampung Kawang here, where a fatal accident occurred recently,” he told reporters after inspecting the incident location near here, today.
Last Friday, three people were killed when their car collided with a lorry at Kilometre 22 Jalan Papar Lama- Kota Kinabalu, which is part of the Pan Borneo Highway route.
According to the Pantai Manis assemblyman, the safety committee from the Public Works Department and Papar district police chief have briefed him as well as Kawang assemblyman Datuk Ghulam Haidar Khan and Bongawan assemblyman Dr Daud Yusof before visiting the highway site.
“From the briefing, we are satisifed with the action taken to improve safety measures along the construction route of the Pan Borneo Highway, from Kinarut to Papar.
“I was made to understand that the 10-kilometre section of the Pan Borneo Highway route under the Bongawan to Papar package would be completed in two weeks. The overall length of the package is 15.8 kilometres which is expected to be fully completed in February 2021,” he said.
He hoped with the opening of the 10-kilometre Pan Borneo Highway stretch, traffic would be smoother, hence reducing accident risk.
Meanwhile Papar district police chief DSP Batholomew Umpi said since January this year, four fatal crashes involving eight deaths, had happened along the section of Pan Borneo Highway construction route which is from Kilometre 5 Kota Kinabalu to Kilometre 33 Papar, due to various factors. — Bernama
