CONNECTIVITY to all settlements in the state is among the factors taken into consideration when planning the construction of roads.
Assistant Minister of Infrastructure and Ports Development Datuk Julaihi Narawi said there were some 6,000 settlements scattered throughout the state.
“Therefore, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state government has rural programmes to connect settlements all over Sarawak,” he said in response to a question from Abdul Yakub Arbi (PBB-Balingian) today.
He said it wanted new areas to be as developed as others.
“We also consider traffic flows to ensure that road users can drive comfortably and safely according to the set time and are not stuck in traffic jams,” he said.
Asked about construction cost for one kilometre of tar-sealed road, he said in a hilly or mountainous area, it would cost about RM6.3 million to RM10.7 million depending on the road.
“For tar-sealed roads on flat land, the estimated cost for one kilometre of road is RM4.7 million to RM10.4 million,” he said.
He said for peat soil, it would cost approximately RM5.7 million to RM12.5 million.
Julaihi also explained that there were different speed limit guidelines depending on the Public Works Department’s (JKR) road design standard.
For JKR Standard R1 roads, he said the maximum speed limit was 40km/h while it was 70km/h for R3.
“For JKR Standard R5 roads, the speed is limited to 100km/h,” he said.
