KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 10,039 street lights have been installed at strategic locations along the Sarawak Pan Borneo Highway to ensure the highest level of user safety.
Deputy Minister of Works Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the lights were installed at major junctions, P-turn locations and flyovers in line with the recommendations of the road safety audit which is the main guideline in the design and construction of the country’s road infrastructure.
He said that for areas that were not yet equipped with street lights, the government would not compromise on safety aspects by adding additional protective features in the area including the installation of reflectors and road barriers.
“The calculation for street lights is one light for every 30 metres, that is the Public Works Department (JKR) standard, for 786 kilometres we have (need) 26,200 street lights on one side of the road,” he said.
“If two sides of the road means 52,400 street lights, it means there are 41,961 more street lights that have not been installed.”
“If we want to install all of them at once using solar lights of 52,400 lights, and at RM10,000 for one solar light, it will require half a billion ringgit,” he said.
He said this in response to a question from Senator Roderick Wong Siew Lead who wanted to know whether the government would install street lights along Sarawak LPB to improve road user safety during the question and answer session at Dewan Negara today.
Responding to a supplementary question from Roderick Wong on whether the government planned to increase the number of rest and care areas (R&R) along the Sarawak LPB, Ahmad said two R&Rs had been completed and another one is in the planning stage.
“For the one-way stops, three have been completed, two more are in the planning stages, meaning there will be three R&Rs and five one-way stops,” he said.
“If all are completed, it will be sufficient for use,” he said. – Bernama
