Brunei's Local News - Brudirect.com

Kuala Belait - People have complained about the improper design and poor condition of Sg Liang road, which they said is causing discomfort among the local residents and posing a safety hazard to road users passing through the Belait-Tutong/Brunei-Muara route.

Kg Lumut I village head Hj Mohd Shafiee Ahmad, also a member of Legislative Council, told The Brunei Times yesterday "the inappropriate design of the road is affecting the villagers' welfare and is posing a safety hazard to them everyday".

Hj Mohd Shafiee was referring to the traffic junction right before Sg Liang Industrial Park (Spark) in Lumut.

"I have received a lot of complaints, especially from Kg Sg Lalit residents, who could not directly enter the entrance road to their village due to the poor traffic design," he explained. "They should have made the traffic a cross junction instead of a three-way junction," he suggested.

With the current layout the villagers are unable to enter their village directly and have to take a U-turn first. "Many of them complain that it is hassling to do so which forced them to take an illegal U-turn instead," he added.

At the moment many people are risking their own safety by making a U-turn in the middle of the road.

In addition, travelling toward Brunei-Muara is more hassling for Kg Sg Lalit residents as they have to travel as far as 2km toward Belait before they could take a U-turn before heading toward Brunei-Muara, said Hj Mohd Shafiee.

He further commented that the existence of traffic junction will actually slow down the traffic flow. "Employees are rushing everyday to their workplaces if the traffic light begins its operation it will surely slow down the traffic flow."

The matter is made worse by the conversion from dual carriageways to a single lane at Sg Liang road, making it an accident prone area.

A 23-year-old Sg Liang resident, Hasrol Bagol, told The Brunei Times that he found the traffic cones placed along the road a safety hazard: "Drivers are at risk of getting into accident as they speed away from Belait town toward Tutong because they are forced to slow down suddenly, when the carriageways contracted to a single lane."

A resident of Kg Lumut who wished to remain anonymous admitted that the condition is more perilous for visitors from Sarawak because they are unfamiliar with Brunei road condition.

Meanwhile, an officer at Sg Liang Police Station, Sergeant Sambang Bidi, said that it was not the only complaints received from road users. In addition of the road congestion, he commented that due to the road poor condition and its being located near hilly areas it is considered a hazard to travellers passing through the roads during rainy period.

He calls for road users to drive cautiously and to show compassion to other drivers when passing through Sg Liang road.

No immediate comment was available from the Belait Public Works Department regarding this matter went contacted yesterday. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times