Lebuhraya Sultan Iskandar Repair Works To Last A Week

Drivers in KL will be in for a rough time on the roads this week which, as previously reported, stems from an issue with settling soil that has caused a shutdown of a substantial section of road along Lebuhraya Sultan Iskandar (formerly known as Lebuhraya Mahameru).

It’s very clear that the settling soil has worsened since yesterday to a cause large cracks and depression in the road. According to The Star, Kuala Lumpur’s Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib said the contractors would use granular material to fill the affected areas and strengthen the structure.

“The settlement was caused by incessant downpour. Rainwater seeped into the soil of the undercut tunnelling construction, causing the sheet pile to slant, resulting in the road to crack.”

The area underneath the affected stretch of road is the site of an ongoing MRT (Mass Rail Transit) tunnel construction.

The daily also reported that the Mayor added it would likely a week before that stretch would be safe for reopening, taking three days for the soil strengthening process alone.

“According to Ikram (Malaysian Public Works Institute), there is still slight earth movement. The project consultant will constantly monitor this,” he said.

Motorists that were travelling toward the affected stretch of highway had to be diverted onto the Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim (formerly known as Jalan Duta) exit. Traffic conditions there had taken a downward turn, with crawls starting as far back as Jalan Tun Razak, based on checks performed by StarMetro.

Motorists are encouraged to use alternative routes through Jalan Kinabalu, Jalan Kuching, Jalan Damansara, Jalan Parlimen and Jalan Tun Razak (South) to exit the city.

A statement released by Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) said that their investigation and that of their contractor's revealed that the incident was not caused by the construction of the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line.

"MRT Corp wishes to point out that besides the MRT Project, there are other infrastructure construction projects in the vicinity of the Lebuhraya Sultan Iskandar-Jalan Duta intersection.”