Development of the highway network in Malaysia began in the 1980s and with the announcement of each new highway project, there was the promise of ‘smooth, jam-free motoring’ between destinations. That was true for a while as the total vehicle population was still not very large. Furthermore, the number of townships and housing estates was also small, so there wasn’t a huge volume of traffic moving daily to the urban centres.
Today, a new highway seems to provide the ‘promise’ for a short while and then congestion starts. It gets worse and worse and sometimes, the highway concessionaire may try solutions like adding lanes. But it is often unsatisfactory, especially for those who pay toll.
The Smartlane initiative
PLUS Malaysia Berhad constantly looks for ways to reduce congestion on its highways and this October 23, it will try out a manual pilot SmartLane initiative to mitigate and evaluate the traffic congestion flow between the Setia Alam exit towards the Shah Alam Toll Plaza in Selangor.
After a period of observation and evaluation, PLUS plans to implement the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) and establish an electronic SmartLane, similar to the ones presently applied in the United Kingdom and Holland.
The aim is to optimize the use of the left-most lane to enhance the flow of traffic with the aim of reducing congestion for highway customers who travel between Setia Alam to Shah Alam on the NKVE (New Klang Valley Expressway) during the morning rush hours.
Pilot sector covers 6 kms
This pilot implementation covers the NKVE stretch between Km 3.2 and Km 9.2 on the northbound side towards Petaling Jaya/Subang. It will be activated between 6:30 am and 9:30 am every Monday to Friday. During these morning peak hours, the left-most lane will be opened and used as a temporary additional lane to increase lane capacity and promote smoother traffic flow.
“Our studies have shown that the convergence of traffic as well as climbing areas contributed greatly to the congestion on the NKVE. The SmartLane pilot project is a proactive step towards providing our customers a smoother travel solution,” said PLUS Chief Operating Officer, Zakaria Ahmad Zabidi. The ITS SmartLane initiative is fully supported and endorsed by the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA), the Police (PDRM) and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS).
He added that various preparations will be in place before the SmartLane starts. These include deploying Police and PLUSRonda officers on-site, installation of directional signages, assigning additional tow trucks at strategic locations and providing an emergency bay at Km 5.6.
“Based on PLUS’ record, 302,000 vehicles ply the NKVE daily, where 22% of them enter the highway simultaneously during the morning rush hour. However, with the implementation of the SmartLane, we expect to reduce the Setia Alam-Shah Alam peak hour crawl by 30% to 40%, barring any incidents such as accidents and vehicle breakdowns. Nevertheless, we have tow trucks on standby to address these incident” he explained.
Implementation in two phases
The implementation of this SmartLane initiative will be carried out in two phases. Phase One will operate manually via road signs placed at the designated stretch. Phase Two, planned to start in the second quarter of 2020, will incorporate full-fledged ITS technology. The ITS system will enable PLUS to manage traffic enforcement and traffic distribution more efficiently. All systems will be managed and monitored through the PLUS Traffic Monitoring Centre at Persada PLUS.
“We do plan to expand the SmartLane initiative to other locations along PLUS highways in the future,” added Encik Zakaria. “In the meantime, we strongly advise highway users to always follow the traffic signages, adhere closely to the speed limit, give way to emergency vehicles and be extra careful when plying the highway.”
