KUALA LUMPUR: The opening of the 130-metre stretch of connecting road from Taman Dato’ Senu 3 to Jalan Kg Bandar Dalam, Sentul, benefits more than 50,000 residents in the surrounding areas, said Batu Member of Parliament P. Prabakaran.

He said residents in the area had been waiting for two years for the connecting road and were now relieved with its opening as it also helped to reduce traffic congestion in the Sentul area.

“Before this, we had been pushing the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to speed up the construction of the connecting road and now it is opened, which helps to reduce traffic congestion for motorists using Taman Dato’ Senu road as access to the city centre and Batu Muda,“ he added.

He told reporters this after the opening of the road by Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Kamarulzaman Mat Salleh today.

Prabakaran said residents in the area have requested a speed breaker to prevent motorists from speeding as there is no traffic light at the intersection.

Meanwhile, Kamarulzaman, in his speech, said the development of Bandar Sentul Utama covered an area of 24.28 hectares and involved the main municipal road network, namely Jalan Sentul Perdana and Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (DUKE).

“The developer is required to build the connecting road to disperse traffic in Bandar Sentul Utama and the surrounding residential areas as a condition in the approval of the Development Order,“ he added.

The connecting road from Taman Dato’ Senu 3 to Jalan Kg Bandar Dalam, Sentul, is a two-lane road with a 1.5 m wide pedestrian crossing facility on both sides, as well as a beautiful landscape.

The road was built at a cost of RM8.5 million which includes land acquisition, estimated to be more than RM5.5 million and the installation of eight solar panel street lights to reduce the usage of electricity, which is DBKL’s first green initiative.

“This connecting road can help reduce the problem of traffic congestion on the roads in and out of Sentul for residents such as in Taman Dato’ Senu, Bandar Sentul Utama, Sentul Impian, Sentul Garden, Taman Sentul Jaya and Taman Pelangi.

“It also serves as a shortcut connecting the DUKE Highway thus shortening the travel time to 30 minutes, especially during peak hours,“ he added. - Bernama