More signage to be put up at TTDI interchange to ease congestion

Congested : There is a daily jam at the new TTDI tunnel near Bandar Utama going towards the LDP highway.

Traffic is expected to flow better when more signage is put up at the new Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) Interchange on the Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP), said Lingkaran Trans Kota (Litrak).

Litrak’s head of communications Shah Rizal Mohamed Fawzi said congestion would be minimised when motorists became more accustomed to the new traffic scheme.

He was commenting on feedback from motorists who found themselves caught up in the congestion after the TTDI underpass.

From observation, traffic flow has improved at the TTDI Interchange that replaced the traffic lights at the junction.

However, traffic heading towards Kepong and Bandar Sri Damansara has to slow down immediately after that as motorists need to weave into one lane from the two-lane underpass to merge with traffic on the LDP.

The weaving of traffic often causes congestion during peak hours. It is sometimes worsened by the traffic from the 1Utama traffic light junction.

“We are building more signage gantries to show motorists the correct lane to take when using the underpass, so that they do not need to criss-cross their way back onto the LDP,” Rizal said.

Litrak’s head of engineering department Francisco Anthony Doss said it was difficult for Litrak to find a solution to the long queue of cars from the Bandar Utama traffic light junction as the township’s development was out of their control.

“Alternative exit points are needed for Bandar Utama with increasing development,” he said.

He revealed that there was a proposal from Bandar Utama residents to change the traffic light junction from four-phase to three-phase to alleviate congestion.

“The matter is being discussed now and we are open to ideas. But we need to also take note that the MRT (My Rapid Transit) will change the traffic needs here,” he added.

The new underpass was open to traffic on April 21. Some finishing touches work, including the installation of road kerbs and signage are still being carried out at the TTDI Interchange.

The works are scheduled to be completed by end of July.

The RM130mil interchange was funded by Litrak.

The upgrade for the stretch from Persiaran Surian to Penchala toll plaza is expected to be completed in August.

According to Litrak, the 25-month project costing RM98.6mil is three months ahead of schedule.

By The Star