Uncomplete Chedang Interchange

By Matt Siow - October 20, 2010

Construction on Chedang Interchange has come to a halt (The Star)

Story and photos by Charles Fernandez
charlesf@thestar.com.my

Wednesday October 20, 2010

MOTORISTS on the Seremban Middle Ring Road (MRRS) will have to continue going in circles and making U-turns to reach their destinations because the Chedang Interchange will not be completed any time soon.

The Chedang, KGV and Hospital Tuanku Jaafar (HTJ) interchanges and radial roads will only be completed under the 10th Malaysia Plan.

While work is being done on the KGV and HTJ interchanges and the new RM26mil Taman Permai-Jalan Sungei Ujong link, the Chedang interchange linking the Rasah New Village has come to a halt.

Go the distance: One of the two U-turns on the unfinished stretch of the MRRS near the Bukit Chedang- Rasah New Village link.

Motorists heading to the Rasah New Village and the town centre from Seremban 2, Bukit Chedang, Senawang and Kuala Pilah are now forced to drive to the Bukit Chedang roundabout and make two U-turns before reaching their destinations.

The bridge to link Seremban 2 to Rasah New Village is also not completed because there is not enough allocation. If the bridge is completed together with other projects, traffic dispersal in Seremban will improve.

Bukit Kepayang assemblyman Cha Kee Chin said motorists wanted the Seremban 2-Rasah New Village link completed instead of concentrating on the Taman Permai-Jalan Sungai Ujong link.

He said because of this there was a bottleneck at the Bukit Chedang roundabout and at both the U-turns during rush hours.

He added that the matter was brought up at the last Negri Sembilan state assembly sitting.

Long way: Motorists from Senawang, Kuala Pilah and the town centre will have to take this roundabout to Seremban 2, Bukit Chedang and Rasah New Village.

“The Taman Permai-Sungei Ujong link can wait and the allocation could be used to complete the Seremban 2-Rasah New Village stretch because it will help ease traffic flow on the highway,’’ said Cha.

However, it is learnt that the Seremban 2-Rasah New Village stretch will cost much more than the Jalan Permai-Sungei Ujong link as it involves widening the Kepayang river and land reclamation at the new village.

“So until that is sorted out, projects that have been started will continue while motorists will have to bear with the inconvenience,’’ added Cha.

The RM500mil MRRS, which is a 28.8km two-lane dual carriageway, is toll-free with 16 interchanges.

The highway project, undertaken by Konsortium Temokin Vila-Jelas JV Sdn Bhd (KTVJSB), will be able to cope with traffic for up to 20 years.

Modifications will be done if the highway is unable to cope with the traffic within the stipulated time.

The first phase of the MRRS started in 2004 with the Rasah-Bukit Tembok stretch and the second phase from Taman Bidara to the Rasah Interchange.

Ongoing: Land clearing in progress at the Permai Interchange to link it to Jalan Sungei Ujong.

The first part of Phase 2 is the Bukit Chedang-Permai-Jalan Sungei Ujong stretch which was completed last year.

The only missing link to this stretch is the Seremban 2-Rasah New Village link.

The second part of Phase 2 includes the Taman Bidara Interchange connecting part of Bukit Chedang and the Permai Interchange.

Now, the project is in its first part of Phase 3 which includes the three interchanges at Chedang, Tuanku Jaafar Hospital and KGV.

All the missing links at the interchanges in Bukit Chedang and Permai as well as the link to Jalan Sungei Ujong will be completed in the final phase.

The final stretch from Taman Mutiara Galla to Temiang which cuts through an abandoned quarry is the only part of the ring road system with a 15% gradient.

Designed in 2002, the entire MRRS was under the Seremban Structure Plan 1975.

JKR (Federal) senior general manager Nor Azman Ismail had said that he was unable to give an exact date of the completion although some stretches of the MRRS were already open to traffic, giving motorists a faster and an easier access from the PLUS highway to link Kuala Pilah, Mantin and beyond by avoiding the traffic congestion in Seremban town.