A number of cars were seen pulling up by the sides of the elevated stretch when CarSifu drove past in opposite directions at dusk recently. The drivers obviously knew they were accidents waiting to happen as all the vehicles had switched on their hazard lights.
A group of motorcyclists was also spotted gathering on one side to look at the picturesque setting while chatting away and taking “selfies”.
The section, where the speed limit is 60kph, becomes especially dangerous when fog rolls in after a downpour or in the early morning hours when visibility could be reduced.
The winding stretch at tree-top level has narrow side lanes that are only wide enough to fit Perodua Myvi-size cars in case they have to stop in an emergency breakdown.
To minimise accidents on the Rawang Bypass, the authorities need to put up signages to ban such unregulated “rest-stops” and to patrol the area at random to ensure the road is clear and safe from human obstruction.
A section of the 9km road is elevated and cuts through the Selangor Heritage Park, providing a stunning vista of the forest and built-up areas in the distant. The 2.7km elevated stretch is an engineering marvel and was designed this way ostensibly to protect rare merawan kanching or giam kanching tree species in the park.
The 58.2m-high pillars required to prop up the elevated road are said to be the highest in Malaysia.
The toll-free Rawang Bypass was opened on Nov 29. The four-lane dual carriageway took 12 years to build at a cost of RM628mil. The road links Serendah in Selangor to Kuala Lumpur, bypassing the congested Rawang town, halving commute time to 30 mins.
