To accommodate the increased traffic during this Hari Raya Haji festive season, PLUS Malaysia will be activating its “SmartLane” at 5 locations. The SmartLane basically makes it legal to drive on the emergency lane at the “activated areas” to allow for smoother traffic flow. PLUS is expecting 2 million cars per day this festive season, higher than the usual 1.7 million cars on a normal day.
The locations where the SmartLane will be activated are as such:
- Port Dickson Interchange – Seremban Interchange (KM260.0 to KM263.1 – Northbound)
- Senai Utara Interchange – Kulai Interchange (KM19.0 to KM27.0 – Northbound)
- Gua Tempurung – Gopeng stretch (KM306.7 to KM297.0 – Northbound)
- Slim River – Sungkai (KM367.3 to KM354.1 – Northbound)
- Rawang Rest & Service Area – Sungai Buaya Interchange (KM439.9 -KM435.5 – Northbound)
The activation of the SmartLane will depend on the traffic situation but will mainly be from June 28 to July 2, 2023. There will be officers and signages to indicate where the SmartLane starts and ends.
PLUS Senior General Manager of Operations, Mohd Yusuf Abdul Aziz said, “At these SmartLane locations, highway users will be allowed to temporarily enter and drive on the emergency lane before being directed back to the main lanes to continue their journey. However, users are strictly prohibited from driving on the emergency lanes at other locations where SmartLane is not activated.”
“The activation of SmartLane is not new. In fact, it has been implemented during previous festive seasons. At certain stretches such as Setia Alam-Shah Alam on the NKVE and USJ-Seafield on ELITE, SmartLane is carried out every day to facilitate traffic flow during morning peak hours on regular working days. SmartLane is also normally activated during emergency highway repairs and accident clearance work.”
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Also in anticipation of the traffic surge, PLUS will be taking the following measures:
- Increase PLUSRonda teams to conduct additional patrols on the highways.
- Temporarily suspend road maintenance works between June 24 and July 3 (exceptions will be made for maintenance and emergency works that require immediate action for safety).
- Issue Travel Time Advisory (TTA) schedule. The TTA schedule can be referred to on the PLUS website or all PLUS social media channels.
- Provide the latest traffic information through electronic boards on the highways, radio stations, PLUSTrafik Twitter, social media platforms, and the PUTRI Chatbot.
