Dual-carriageway to be built at Ulu Sg Merah

(From right) Clarence, David, Roland and Samuel show their thumbs-up during a photo-call at the traffic light project site at the Ling Kai Cheng-Ulu Sungai Merah Road roundabout.

SIBU: A dual-carriageway will be built at Ulu Sungai Merah soon to ease the traffic flow.

In announcing this, Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting also assures the public that the current works on the traffic lights at Ling Kai Cheng-Ulu Sungai Merah Road roundabout should reach completion within the next three months.

On the planned dual-carriageway project, he says it is meant to facilitate smoother traffic at the stretch, which connects to SMK Ulu Sungai Merah and SJK Nansang there.

However, he also calls upon the parents of school-children to also cooperate when it comes to sending their children off to and fetching them from school.

“The dual carriageway would not be the problem-solver if the parents do not comply with the directives from the schools (to not haphazardly stop and park their cars along the road); no matter how wide the road is, there would still be traffic jams.

“As there are more houses being built in Ulu Sungai Merah, the need to expand the road into a dual carriageway is definitely there,” he told reporters during an inspection on the traffic light project site at the Ling Kai Cheng-Ulu Sungai Merah Road roundabout here yesterday.

Pelawan assemblyman David Wong, his personal assistant Samuel Wong, and SMC Works and Traffic Committee chairman Councillor Roland Ting were also at the site.

“I must thank Pelawan assemblyman David Wong for coming together this morning; this is very good so that the views from both sides on ways to improve this area can come together.

“This thing is not about politics, it has nothing to do with politics – it is about the people here and ways to make their living conditions better.

“Even though we still have to go through a long process of constructing the double carriageway, I assure you that it will be done for the people,” added Clarence.

Meanwhile in his remarks, David conveyed ‘a big thank you’ to Clarence and Roland for their cooperation.

“Councillor Clarence Ting is very responsive towards the people’s needs.

“Both of us being here today has nothing to do with politics. We come together because we want to help the people in Ulu Sungai Merah, who have been facing traffic jams for many years.

“The people cannot wait any longer; we cannot develop Sibu if we do not have any proper road network,” he said.

David stressed that his presence during yesterday’s inspection was to show his support for SMC, which ‘is working for the people’.

“We put politics aside – what’s important is that we work together on how best we can help the people,” he said.