Snippets on the MCE

On Monday morning it was like the sky opened up. No it was not pouring rain. The sun was out there though a bit hazy. And the haze got worse when all the cars, buses, lorries etc caught in one of the most massive traffic jam in our recent history started to pump out more gas into the morning air. Getting stuck in this jam for more than an hour was considered lucky. Some got stuck for 2 to 3 hours, enough time to get to Malacca or KL.

Criticism of the most congested or massive congestion expressway was widespread, spontaneous and furious. $4.3b were spent on this great piece of maze that transformed a straight expressway to a crooked and longer one to help motorists to reach their destinations faster by 2 to 3 hours more. Some were shaking their heads that we need to spend $4.3b to replicate the jams in our neighbouring capital cities. Surely that must not be the intention unless it is done to show the people what bad govt is all about. Just hope it is not the outstanding contribution of our FTs.

Maybe the jam was a fiction of one’s imagination as some eminent motorists were claiming that they reached their destination in much shorter time driving through the MCE. Maybe that was the truth, the MCE was smooth flowing. The jams were on the surface roads after exiting the MCE and got caught by some choke points.

Several recommendations were put up by the netizens. One, since MCE is free and smooth flowing, the LTA should remove the ERP charges. But this suggestion is bad if no alternative sites for ERP are erected to recover the $4.3b construction cost. Actually there is no lack of roads for new ERP gantries. All the exit roads after the MCE are ideal locations for ERPs as these are the places that the jams occurred.

Some also suggested having more electronic signboards along the MCE, like those for car parks, to tell motorists which exits are free and which exits are jammed. Motorists would then be well informed on which exit to take to avoid the jams.

Some were wondering why the traffic planners and experts did not conduct computer simulations on the new traffic pattern with such major changes. If they have done so, more pro active measures could be taken to avoid the once in 50 year traffic jam.

One more recommendation, maybe LTA should reconsider the closing of existing stretch of ECP to give motorists more options and expressways to drive through. Driving in a straight expressway must be shorter than driving through a crooked one. This principle must be made know to the road designers so that in future when they design expressways they would not attempt anything crooked.

Those who were stuck in taxis in the jams are asking the LTA for a refund as the $16 fare could go up to $50 or $80. Can refund or not? They must be paying for sitting on the most expensive expressway in the world.

There is no need to worry about complaints that the MCE would become a white elephant if the closed section of the ECP is reopened. The MCE is already built and the money spent, water under the bridge. Just make a few explanations and life will go one. The final result must be lesser congestion when there are now two expressways instead of one.

What do you think?