Johor ready for bridge revival
By : Siti Nurbaiyah Nadzmi
JOHOR BARU: The state government has made preparations if the Johor Baru-Singapore bridge project is revived in the future.
Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the on-going construction of the semi-permanent access road to the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex at Bukit Chagar was in anticipation of the bridge project.
The access road, which links the causeway to the complex and other parts of the city, is for light and heavy vehicles.
It will be ready by June next year.
Ghani said the cost of the proposed highway to link the causeway to the new CIQ complex was too expensive.
The cost was almost equivalent to building the bridge itself.
Subsequently the state government was told to come up with an alternative route.
“We were told that the route must be accessible, cost-effective and with an amendable design.
“If we need to build a bridge in the future, the access road can be easily amended.”
Ghani explained that the structure of the semi-permanent access road was designed to fit into future developments without destroying the entire structure and rebuilding a new one.
The road is a three-tier interchange connecting the CIQ complex to JB Sentral, which is the city’s railway and public transit hub.
It disperses traffic emerging from the CIQ Complex to other destinations through the JB Inner Ring Road and Jalan Stulang Darat.
The project is expected to reduce traffic congestion in Johor Baru, mainly in the central business district.
The CIQ complex, identified as the most important southern gateway, would be the busiest land entry and exit point in the country with more than 135,000 vehicles passing through it daily.
When asked if businesses in the city centre would suffer from lesser traffic flow, Ghani said there was no cause for concern because the semi-permanent access road would ease traffic out of the city and at the same time, allow people to re-enter the city.
Earlier, Ghani opened the new office of Iskandar Investment Berhad, an investment arm for Iskandar Malaysia here yesterday.
Also present was the company’s managing director, Arlida Ariff.
NST, 16 August 2008
