Highway authority expects 2.3 million vehicles daily on major expressways during Raya

The Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) expects an increase in traffic volume of up to 2.3 million vehicles daily on the three major expressways in the country starting today until May 7 in conjunction with the Aidilfitri celebration.

LLM, in a statement today, said that the expected increase in traffic is on the North-South Expressway (PLUS), Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway and East Coast Expressway 1.

To ensure smooth traffic flow and reduce congestion on expressways, it has instructed the highway concessionaires to take several steps to minimise the impact of the increase in traffic.

These include stopping construction and maintenance work involving the closure of highway lanes effective April 18 until May 7 and issuing travel time advisories to help motorists plan their journey, as well as displaying traffic information and reminders for them to top up their Touch 'n Go or e-Wallets before starting their journey on electronic signages.
 
The highway concessionaires are also requested to station their staff at toll plazas to assist motorists in ensuring smooth traffic flow, especially when the free toll initiative is in effect, in addition to ensuring the system and operations at the toll plazas run smoothly.

They are also requested to open additional toll lanes in areas identified to have high traffic.

LLM will also ensure that the concessionaires deploy enough emergency response team members to deal with any incidents, as well as provide additional facilities in parking lots and portable toilets at several R&R areas along PLUS and East Coast Expressway 2.

To optimise the free toll initiative that starts today until April 21 and on April 24, the Touch 'n Go or SmartTAG card needs to be tapped at the toll plaza, while users of the radio frequency identification (RFID) need to enter and exit the highway using RFID lanes.

The LLM Traffic Management Centre will operate for 24 hours from April 19 to 26 to provide the latest traffic information to highway users.