3.8 million vehicles expected on expressways nationwide during CNY holiday, says minister

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 3.8 million vehicles are expected to use expressways to get to their respective destinations nationwide during the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday starting this weekend.

Public Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said with the increase in traffic volume, several initiatives had been taken by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) to ensure smooth traffic flow and safety of road users during the period.

They included Op Selamat, carried out since last Friday (Jan 13) with the cooperation of the police, and Op Bersepadu, to be launched on Tuesday (Jan 17) with the cooperation of the Road Transport Department, he added.

He said LLM and the concessionaires would also operate round the clock with additional staff on duty.

"We will also ensure the toll collection system works well, as well as provide additional lanes to reduce congestion at the toll plazas," he said during an interview with Bernama Radio at Wisma Bernama here today.

He said tow trucks were also provided at selected locations to help in the event of an accident.

Construction and maintenance work by all highway concessionaires involving lane closures will be stopped from this Friday (Jan 20) until next Wednesday (Jan 25) to avoid disrupting traffic flow, he added.

According to Nanta, a total of 4,379 fatalities in road accidents were recorded in the country from January to September last year, involving 402,626 accident cases.

"It is an increase of 36% or 147,094 accident cases compared to the same period in 2021," he added.