SHAH ALAM: A series of accidents involving heavy vehicles, including a 12-vehicle pile-up that injured four people earlier this month, has renewed calls for urgent safety improvements along Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari.
More than 100 residents from Alam Budiman and neighbouring housing areas staged a protest at the Jalan Alam Budiman traffic junction today, highlighting what they described as a "killer road".
Carrying a replica coffin and placing mock graves at the intersection, they called on the authorities to address recurring accidents and expedite a proposed 5km flyover project, which they said had been mooted 15 years ago.
Gabungan Penduduk U10 residents' association chairman Badrul Hisham Shahbudin said the proposed flyover was needed to accommodate growing traffic volumes and improve safety for motorists from Puncak Alam, Puncak Perdana, Meru, Saujana Utama and surrounding areas.
"We hope the proposed flyover will be given serious attention as this is a main route for motorists from these areas to access Dash.
"We have been calling for road widening and the construction of a flyover for years because we believe these are the solutions needed. However, we still want to know when the project will be implemented," he said after the protest.
Greenhill Residence chairman Mohd Zailani Johari, 57, called for immediate safety measures rather than leaving residents to wait for the proposed flyover.
He said the recent accidents involving heavy vehicles had heightened fear and trauma among residents.
"Residents want safety measures to be implemented immediately because we cannot simply wait for the flyover to be built while road users continue to face risks every day.
"We hope the authorities will review the road conditions and introduce improvements in the near future," he said.
Their protest follows a series of crashes along the route this month, including an incident on Oct 9 in which a lorry crashed into 11 other vehicles at the Alam Budiman traffic lights, injuring four people.
Two victims, a man and a woman, suffered serious head injuries, while two other men sustained minor injuries.
Police later confirmed that the 51-year-old lorry driver had tested positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine.
Based on preliminary investigations, the driver claimed that his vehicle suffered brake failure while travelling downhill from Puncak Perdana towards Puncak Alam, causing him to lose control.
On Oct 16, another accident involving several vehicles occurred at Kilometre 9.2 of Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari.
A four-wheel-drive vehicle reportedly hit the rear of a lorry before its driver lost control and veered into the opposite lane, colliding with another lorry and a car.
Three days later, a lorry carrying gravel overturned near the entrance to the Alam Budiman business centre after its driver reportedly lost control while travelling downhill.
The driver was trapped in the wreckage before being rescued.
On Oct 21, the Selangor Public Works Department announced plans to add a 300m lane from Puncak Alam towards Shah Alam at the Alam Budiman junction, alongside additional street lighting, traffic light upgrades and other safety improvements.
Preliminary works were under way, with physical construction expected to begin in mid-2027, according to a report published on Oct 22.
The proposed improvements are aimed at easing congestion and improving safety along the route, which serves several rapidly growing residential areas.
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