PLUS bracing for 1.9 million vehicles on expressway during Deepavali break

PLUS Malaysia Bhd is expecting 1.9 million vehicles to use the PLUS Expressway during the Deepavali holidays and additional school holidays from today to Oct 26.

PLUS chief operations officer Zakaria Ahmad Zabidi said PLUS had released its travel time advisory (TTA) for the period in question for road users to plan their trips in conjunction with the Deepavali celebrations this weekend and into next week.

"Road users can refer to the time travel advisory through the www.plus.com.my website and PLUS social media platforms. 

"The TTA for road users leaving the city for their hometowns using the North-South Expressway is to prevent and manage congestion on the highway, rest areas and toll plazas during this festive period," he said in a statement.

Zakaria advised motorists from the Klang Valley heading towards Perlis, Kedah, Penang, North Perak and Johor to enter the highway before 10am and urged those coming to the Klang Valley from these states from Oct 24 to 26 to enter the expressway before 10am.

He added that PLUS with the cooperation of the Malaysian Highway Authority and police would activate the public smartLane test involving the emergency lane at the Bukit Tambun-Juru Toll Plaza and Sungai Petani Selatan-Hentian Sebelah Tikam Batu toll plazas to reduce congestion.

Zakaria said PLUS would ensure no lane closures, maintenance work or upgrading work is carried out from Oct 21 to 25, to avoid any inconvenience to road users.

He added that 512 PLUSRonda personnel would be deployed throughout the festive season to assist road users who seek help.