Road Infrastructure Development in Malaysia

ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN MALAYSIA By, D at a t o ' S r i P r o f . I r . D r . J u d i n A b d u l  Karim,

Director General, Public Works Department Department Malaysia Malaysia

1.0

INTRODUCTION

In today's world of globalization, the provision of infrastructures, of which road network plays an important and integral role, is essential to enhance the nation's competitiveness and maintain an edge over its competitions In Malaysia, the road network forms the bloodline of the country’s economic activities carrying about 96% of transported goods and passengers. Based on the Ministry of Transport’s statistics, the share of road transport of passengers comprises 64.8% by private car and 30.0% by bus, as compared to 4.7% by rail transport and 0.5% by air transport. The road transport also moved 303 million tonnes of goods or an overwhelming 96.4% of total freight in 2006. .

The Government has continually placed emphasis on the development of road network since the inception of Malaysia Plan. This is notable from the amount of road development allocation as a percentage of infrastructure allocation as shown in Table 1. Development of the transportation infrastructure during the Seventh Plan period focused on capacity expansion to ensure the availability of facilities to meet demand. For the Eighth Plan period, emphasis was given to increasing the capacity and accessibility in less developed areas while in urban areas, the focus was to enhance efficiency and improve public transport services. In the Ninth Malaysia Plan, PWD has so far been allocated RM9.6 billion for the construction of new roads as well as upgrading of existing ones.

Table Table 1: A llo catio n f or Road Developm ent Progr am (1966 (1966 – 201 2010) 0)

Plan First Malaysia Second Malaysia Third Malaysia Fourth Malaysia Fifth Malaysia Sixth Malaysia Seventh Malaysia Eighth Malaysia Ninth Malaysia

Period 1966 – 1970 1971 – 1975 1976 – 1980 1981 – 1985 1986 – 1990 1991 – 1995 1996 – 2000 2001 – 2005 2006 - 2010

Infrastructure  Al locat lo cat io n (RM Billion) 1.550 3.150 7.000 9.700 12.100 14.400 16.100 18.900 46.8

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Road Development  Al lo cat io n (RM Billion) 0.400 0.800 1.550 4.000 4.600 6.800 12.400 14.200 17.3

Infra/Road (% allocation) 25 25 22 41 38 47 77 75 36

With the introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1970, massive investment in road infrastructure had been made to provide better road transportation system throughout the country. Among others, road projects in the rural and under-developed regions were given priority to accelerate the development of those potential regions. In 1983, the Government introduced the privatization policy as a new approach in national development. Well received by the private investors, the policy catapulted the construction of toll highways during the last fourteen years, and to date, there are 28 privatized toll highway concessions in operation and five more under construction.

2.0

Road admini str ation

Currently, there are about 92,000 kilometers of road in Malaysia, 80% percent of which are paved. This network can be broadly categorised into the Federal and State roads. Federal Roads are all roads declared under the Federal Roads Ordinance (1959). This category of roads includes the National Expressway and Highways under the administration of Malaysia Highway Authority (MHA) The Federal PWD manages about 15,500 kilometers of Federal Roads while the state PWDs manage another 36,500 kilometers of the State roads. Figure 1 shows the various categories of roads by administration.

Federal Roads (17.8%)

State Roads (80.6%)

Toll highways (1.6%)

Figure 1: Roads Category by A dminis tration Source: (1)

Route numbers (see Figure 2) provide an identity for each route in the network. Federal Roads are labeled with gazetted numbers, for example “1” for Federal Route 1 and “5” for Federal Route 5. State roads are initialed with the state “code letter“ followed by a route number. The State code letters are adopted from the Malaysian Road Transport Department registration of motor vehicles in each particular State, for example, A for Perak, B for Selangor, etc.. Route Numbering for Highways and Expressways start with the letter “E” followed by a route number. Currently, roads within the local authority’s administration do not have route numbers.

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Figure 2: Typical Route Numbers

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3.0

CHALLENGES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

3.1

Road Network Expansio n and Development

The majority of the existing road network is a culmination from numerous upgrading and rehabilitation exercises on what were formerly bridle paths. These sections initially meander about hilly terrains, or cut through traditional settlements that have now transformed into busy towns. On certain stretches, the roads even bisect the railway lines. As the number of registered vehicles soared from just over 1.5 million in 1976 to about 16 million in 2007, more and more of these roads are choked and their volumetric capacities exceeded. The road development level, a measure of the quantity of road length per unit area, in Malaysia is also low when compared to several developed countries (see Table 2).

Table 2: Internati onal Road Development Level and Servic e Level Country Name

U.S.A West Germany England France Italy Japan Malaysia Indonesia

 Ar ea (x 100km 2) (A)

Population (x 1000) (P)

Road Length (Km) (L)

9,373 249

246,330 61,200

6,230,000 491,000

244 552 301 378 330 1,919

57,080 55,870 57,440 122,610 18,010 164,050

340,000 810,000 300,000 1,110,000 63,445 230,000

Gross Product (100 mil US$)

Road Development Index

Road Density Level (Km/Km 2)

45,267 11,239

Number of Motor Vehicles Registered (x 10000) 18,347 3,104

Road Services Levels (Km/1000 Km/10000 (KM/100 per.) veh) mil US$)

4.10 3.45

0.66 1.97

25.29 6.05

334.57 158.18

137.63 43.69

6,888 8,767 7,507 23,873 318 660

2,467 2,534 2,548 5,245 553 254

2.88 4.61 2.28 5.16 0.82 0.41

1.39 1.47 1.00 2.94 0.19 0.12

5.96 14.50 5.22 9.05 3.50 1.40

137.82 319.65 39.96 211.63 113.90 905.51

49.36 92.39 39.96 46.50 198.11 348.48

In an effort to provide the public with more efficient road network, the Government through the Highway Planning Unit, Ministry Of Works, have developed strategic plan on road network improvement and expansion that would have direct and indirect contribution to the country’s economy. Following the recent creation of new economic corridors, implementation of road network improvement and expansion is becoming more urgent. In short, the strategic road development and expansion plan aims to achieve the followings: i.) ii.) iii.) iv.) v.)

Consolidating the North South-Corridor in the west with the Eastern road network of Peninsular Malaysia, Enhancing connection and mobility between East and West, Enhancing accessibility between the newly developed Northern, Eastern and Southern Economic corridors, Improving road connectivity within the Central Economic Corridor. Improving road connectivity within the Sabah and Sarawak Economic Corridor

Figure 3 and 4 show the strategic expansion of road network to cater for the regional development corridors.

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Northern Corridor

: R oad  N Net   w or k  t he k link ing  t  Nor t  East  and  S Sout her n th   er n,  E Cor r  ri dor s

East Corridor

Southern Corridor

SABAH CORRIDOR SARAWAK CORRIDOR rl

r 

I

ri r

i

l

Fi g u r e 4:  R Road  n networ k  c connection  b between  tthe  S Sabah  a and  S Sar awak  r  r egional  d development r e  4

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3.2

Structural capacity

In Malaysia, the main roads are normally designed to a ten-year period and have typical structural layers of 100 – 150mm subbase, 150 – 450mm unbound granular aggregate roadbase and capped by 100 - 150 mm of asphaltic layers. Based on observations, some roads reached the terminal end of their service life earlier than the designed period. Several factors contributed to this fact like the unprecedented growth in traffic volume, especially in the number of commercial vehicles, increase in legal axle load limit from 10 tons to 12 tones and overloading ( 2 ). Axle load surveys by PWD also showed that the truck Equivalent Factor (E.F) for some commercial vehicles are higher than 10, far above the assumed E.F. of 3.5 in a conventional design. Combinations of the above factors have resulted in some portion of the network reaching their structural capacities earlier than the anticipated design period. Based on these observations and latest best practice around the world, the PWD had reviewed the existing pavement design manual (Arahan Teknik 5/85) and published a new Manual for Pavement Design in 2007. The new Manual for Pavement Design incorporates catalogue of structures for different soil subgrade strengths and traffic volumes. Of special interest, the catalogue of structures includes stabilized subgrade and base layers as options and specifies thicker asphaltic layer (minimum 180mm) for major roads to take care of early fatigue failure due to increased loading.

3.3

Flooded netwo rk

Over the last two decades, as a result of economic prosperity, there has been a rapid growth in urban centres and expansion in the development of land, property and infrastructure in the suburban areas. This has resulted in the potential for greater flood damage as well as increased incidences of occurrence of flash flood, causing a lot of disruption to socioeconomic activities. Due to changes in land use and probably global climate too, flood prone areas are no longer predictable and have departed beyond the East Coast states. At the end of 2006, Johor experienced the worst flood while Pahang was worst hit during the December 2007 flood. In both incidences, the flood water and heavy rainfall had caused massive damages. During the 2006 flood, the estimated costs to repair damaged bridges, slopes and pavement was RM262 million. During the 2007 flood, more bridges and slopes were damaged and the total repair costs was estimated at RM370 million. When subject to flood water and prolonged heavy rainfall, pavement surfaces normally fail by delamination and cracking. Delamination is the separation of wearing course from binder course as a result of weakening of joints between them. This normally is due to infiltration of water into the thin layer of bituminous tack coat between the two courses. Rapid development of fatigue cracks also occurs due to general weakening of the pavement structure under an extended high moisture content condition. Meanwhile, typical damages to bridges and culverts during flood condition include total wash-out, abutment failure, and dislocation of the bridge deck. During the same season, intense rainfall causes slopes to erode and fail. It is not possible to avoid totally the damages due to flood but the degree of damages could be reduced if certain proactive actions are taken. The PWD is considering use of polymer modified asphalts in flood prone areas as polymer modified bitumen have better adhesiveness to aggregates thus reducing the likelihood of delamination occurring during 6

flood season. Good performance of polymer modified asphalts was reported during both 2006 and 2007 seasons.

To minimize damages to bridges, a return period of 100 years should be considered in all new bridge design works. This will provide a better freeboard and avoid the bridge decks from being hit by the gushing logs. There should also be scheduled programs to deepen the river bed in order to minimize the possibility of the bridges decks being submerged by swollen river. The Irrigation Department should also inform PWD about its river widening program as the hydraulic pattern change caused by the widening program will have an effect on the bridge structures, especially the abutments. PWD is carrying out the mandatory yearly inspection to monitor the condition of the bridges. In addition, PWD is also carrying out monthly inspection on bridges that already show telltale signs of impending failure and would take the necessary remedy actions before it becomes more severe. Inefficient drainage system also contributes to occurrence of flash flood. To minimize the occurrence of flash floods, PWD has included, under its maintenance programs, scheduled activities on culvert and drain cleaning, upgrading of unlined roadsides drains, upgrading of culverts, and construction of new drains. Another reason for the occurrence of flash flood is inadequacy of the roadside drains to cater to surface water from newly developed residential areas and townships. Local authorities should ensure that the developers provide adequate drainage system within the residential areas/township and avoid discharging the surface water into the roadside drains, unless totally unavoidable, in which case local authorities should impose on the developer to upgrade the roadside drains to cater to the increase volume of water.

3.4

Slop e Management

Residual soils form most part of Malaysia’s geomorphological features. These highly erodible soils can be seen lining our road and highway slopes in many locations. Under the torrential tropical rains, the residual soils easily give way leaving behind deep gullies. Where these materials occur in abundance and extend even beyond the highway boundaries, the resulting slurries gush down towards the highway pavement with devastating effects.  Although we were quite lucky in the last few years during which very few major landslides or slope failures occurred, a number of catastrophic slope failures took place in 1995 and 1996. In the middle of 1995, 20 people died while another 22 people were injured when the bypass to Genting Highlands at Genting Sampah was washed out after heavy rain. Later in January 1996, a lorry driver died while his assistant escaped unhurt when their lorry was involved in the slope failure mishap at Gua Tempurung, North-South Expressway. In February 1996, landslide during heavy rains resulted in the closure of the Tun Razak Highway in the State of Pahang, causing inconvenience to the road users. Realising the importance of slope integrity for public safety, PWD has vigorously tackled the topic on prevention of slope failure and installation of effective countermeasures. Appropriate policy and institutional development of slope management are being developed for better and more effective slope management, protection of people and resources from landslide disasters. PWD is currently embarking on the National Slope Master Plan Study which addresses issues like hazards mapping and assessment, early warning and real time monitoring system, loss assessment, public awareness and education, emergency preparedness, response and recovery, training and research. 7

The Master Plan Study also looks into the needs to shift policy emphasis from post-landslide relief and rehabilitation to a more proactive approach of landslide prevention and control strategy in national planning and implementation. However, it is commonly acknowledged and accepted that landslides will continue to occur despite such preventive actions. Policies and institutions must therefore be in place to address issues related to landslide risk reduction strategies, including disaster preparedness, mitigation and rehabilitation. While the Federal Government is to ideally provide central coordination and support, there is a need to decentralise landslide risk reduction efforts. Projects in risk reduction need to be implemented not only by the national government but also by the Local authorities, private sector, academic institutions and community-based organisations also have major roles to play. There is a need for change or restructuring in policy and institutional arrangements and functions where the mutual understanding of rules and regulations should be more explicit, transparent and uniform. A consensus must be developed amongst all relevant parties involved. Government agencies, technical and academic institutions, commercial interests, communities and individuals themselves must develop their corresponding competencies and effective capabilities in the risk management. Furthermore, with limited resources, coordination is important if they are to become more effective. Re-structuring national policies to widen the scope of slope management by including landslide risk awareness and management, and training programmes are necessary for the implementation of a comprehensive slope management system. Ultimately, landslide risk reduction objectives need to be parts of the national development plans. The strategic implementation framework of the Slope Master Plan will be three phases. During the first phase (2008-2012), it will focus on building strong capabilities, expertise and networking in slope management, provide multi-sectoral and integrated slope management and landslide risk reduction mechanisms, and integrate landslide risk reduction into development policies and planning. The Master Plan also aims to adopt or/and modify necessary legislations to support and promote landslide risk reductions before end of 2012. Thereafter, it is hoped that there is a strong Government support to promote and integrate landslide risk reduction into development programming. 3.5

Bridges and struct ures

It is estimated that there are about 23,000 bridges in the country. Presently, the Public Works department maintains an inventory of 7,133 bridges along the Federal Roads in Peninsular Malaysia. About 69% of these bridges are culverts with span more than 0.5 m. The number of ‘true’ bridges is 2,163; about 30% of which are simple girder bridges. In terms of the construction material of the superstructure, PWD record shows that about 88.6% of the structures are made of concrete. Figure 5  shows bridge on Federal roads by material types while Figure 6 shows bridge statistics on Federal Roads by states. PWD manages the bridge stock by carrying out the mandatory annual bridge inspection and priotising their maintenance program with the help of the Bridge Management System (BMS),

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Bridg es On Federal Roads By Primary Material Types (Unti l Dec 2006)

Masonry, 172

Other, 7

Steel, 632

Concrete, 6322

Concrete

Steel

Masonry

Other  

Figure 5: Bridges On Federal Roads by Primary Material Types

Figure 6: Bridge Statistics on Federal Roads by states

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In 1989, an axle load survey was carried out to ascertain the load carrying capacities of all bridges along the Federal roads. The results of this survey were translated into The Weight Restriction Order 1989, which defines the routes for movement of vehicles with different categories of axle loading and configuration.

Expansion of the heavy industry sectors have resulted in more industrial estates being set up further away from the hedges of major Federal roads. The new industrial estates are normally linked to major Federal roads by the state roads. In some cases, bridges along the State Roads became incapacitated due to the increase in gross loadings that were not accounted for during planning stage. The results of the State Axle Load Study Phase 1, (2002) on 1324 structures have shown that about 10% of the structures need to be strengthened or replaced in the long term. (2). The study also recommended modification of the Weight Restriction Order (WRO) for several state roads. PWD is currently undertaking the 2nd Phase of State Roads Axle Load Study, which involves the states of Penang, Perak, Kedah and Perlis. The study is expected to finish in early 2009. For the Federal roads, PWD put up a new WRO for gazetting in 2003, increasing the standard axle load from 10 tons to 12 tons for List 1 of the WRO. List 1 includes most stretches of the toll highways and major Federal roads. This action was taken in view of fact that numerous bridge replacement and upgrading projects have been undertaken along those roads since 1989. In the 9th Malaysia Plan, PWD will upgrade or replace 66 bridges at a total cost of RM239.1 million. There is now a need for the states to modify the WRO on state roads in line with the setting up of new economic corridors. PWD is also forming a committee to review the WRO on Sabah and Sarawak for the same purpose.

3.6

Road safety

In Malaysia, the number of road accidents is still alarming and have not shown a satisfactory decreasing trend as yet. Based on the latest statistics ( 3 ), there were 363,319 road crashes with 6282 deaths in 2007 and motorcyclists make up 58% of the death toll. With an annual increase of 9.3% in the number of registered vehicles and minimal increase in new road length, more road users will be exposed to accidents risks yearly. Figure 7 show the fatality trend from 1995 and 2007. In the Ministry of Transport’s Road Safety Plan of Malaysia 2006-2010, the government has set a target to reduce deaths to 2.0 for every 10,000 registered vehicles in 2010. In support of the national road safety target, the PWD has drawn out several programs that are based on two strategies, that is, accident prevention (proactive measures) and accident reduction (reactive measures). The accident prevention measures is done by incorporating Road Safety Auditing (RSA) for all new road project during the planning design, construction and operation stages of the project implementation. The RSA is also carried out on existing roads at the operation stage. By end of November 2006, more than 168 road projects, new and existing, have undergone the whole or part of the RSA process. To enhance safety during construction, JKR also made it mandatory for contractor to produce and follow a proper traffic management during construction.

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Figure 7: Fatality trend 1995 - 2007

The accident reduction strategy implements programs to reduce accident or reduce the rate of injury or fatality if an accident does occur. These programs include improvement of hazardous locations along the existing roads, research and study programs on hazardous location, road surface, geometric standard and traffic control device. PWD started treating the blackspot locations since the 7th Malaysia Plan during which 147 were identified. During the 8th  Malaysia Plan RM60 million was allocated for this program and for the 9th  Malaysia Plan another RM40 million has been allocated for the same purpose. In addition to blackspot treatment program, PWD also executes other accident reduction programs. Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the Government has allocated about RM 51.3 million for road safety programs shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Road Safety Program 8th  Malaysia Plan

9th  Malaysia Plan

105 sites 24 sites 120 sites 27 km 150 km 1 sites -

15 sites 34 sites 53 km 5

Pedestrian Crossing Facilities a. Signalised crossing b. Overhead crossing Improvement of Dangerous Curves Overtaking Lanes Paving of Shoulder Installation of Street Lighting Road Safety Audit & Courses

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 Apart from that, the Government has also allocated about RM 18.5 milllion for the construction of motorcycle lanes to segregate motorcycles from mix traffic lanes. The objective is to reduce accidents involving motorcyclists and pillion riders. Selections to built motorcycle lanes are based on the number of traffic, percentage composition of motorcycles and the annual number to accidents which involve motorcycles for every kilometer sections of road. Table 4 shows the motorcycle lane program and Figure 8 shows a typical layout of a motorcycle lane. Table 4 Motorcycle Lane Program

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

8th  Malaysia Plan (No. Of Sites) 2 (15 km) 2 (31 km) 1 (7 km) 1 (13 km) 4 (55 km) -

Perak Kedah Perlis Terengganu Johor Negeri Sembilan Selangor Pulau Pinang Pahang Kelantan Melaka

9th  Malaysia Plan (No. Of Sites) 1 (7 km) 2 (12 km) 1 (7 km) 2 (24 km) 2 (19 km) 6 (82.5 km) 1 (8 km) 1 (6 km) 1 (7 km) 1 (9 km)

Figure 8: Construction of motorcycle lane to segregate motorcyclist from mixed traffic

The Department is also reviewing the design of signboards to impart higher level of safety and efficiency for the public. The new design will incorporate map type display of junctions, more prominent and bigger route numbers, exit numbers and route name. PWD will construction the new signboard design on pilot scale around Putrajaya. The use of route numbers, practiced widely around the world, should extend beyond the Federal and State Roads to the local authorities. 12

3.7

Road Ass et Management

The main objectives of road asset management are to keep the road open and safe at all times and to optimise the traveling time and vehicle operating costs. Poorly maintained roads will not only affect the movement of goods and people but also pilfer from the Government a fortune due to the amplification of maintenance costs. The Government has been allocating a large amount of money towards road maintenance. Figure 9  and 10  show the maintenance allocation for the State roads and Federal roads respectively.

1800 1600    )    6 1400    ^    0    1 1200    X    M1000    R    ( 800    T    N    A 600    R    G 400

200 0 2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

YEAR

Figure 9: State Road Grant (2000 – 2007)

   )    ^    0    1    X    M    R    (    N    O    I    T    A    C    O    L    L    A

   6

700 600 500 400 300 200 100 2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

YEAR

Figure 10: Maintenance Allocation for Federal Roads (2000 – 2008

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 At a time when most road authorities are facing difficulties obtaining adequate funds to maintain their growing road network, the authorities need a systematic approach to help them determine their priorities on maintenance. The PWD uses the HDM-4 software, a World Bank recognized product, to determine optimum maintenance strategies for Federal Roads. The software analyses the road conditions and establishes optimum annual maintenance programs for the approved funding. PWD also uses the software to advise the government on predicted road conditions needed to maintain the Federal roads. PWD welcomes public participation in its decision making process as a means to improve the agency’s delivery system. One aspect of better delivery system is the availability of channels for the public to give their views and complaints. Besides going through email, hotline and the more conventional way of writing letters, PWD has developed another complaint channel through the Short Messaging System (SMS). To inform the public of these facilities to make complaints, PWD has erected signboards at strategic locations along Federal Roads. 3.8

Enviro nmental Issues

In implementing its infrastructure development programmes, PWD does not sacrifies the well-being of the environment. Roads projects that fall within the prescribed activities of the 1975 Environment Quality Act and its subsequent amendments in 1987, shall have the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report approved by the Department of Environment (DOE) before they can proceed. The mandatory EIA report shall incorporate the Environment Management Plan (EMP) to tackle the environmental issues of the project During project implementation, PWD carries out close monitoring to determine the status of the environmental quality and take mitigation measures where necessary. Mitigating measures to minimize pollution include hydroseeding within 14 days, slope protection and stabilization, creepers, silt fence and natural green buffer zone, silt curtain / silt trap, rock bund, skid tank containment bund, control of schedule wastes including storage of used engine oil and oil and grease trap.

a. Turfin on barren .

b. Silt curtain

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c. Silt fence

3.9

New asphalt paving technologies

Worldwide, there has been a tremendous amount of efforts being made towards improving the pavement technology. Research work on asphalt materials, non-destructive pavement testing methods, stabilised bases and sub-grades, analytical pavement design and pavement management systems have mushroomed over the past decade or so and we are now seeing some interesting developments in those fields . The PWD Malaysia is keeping abreast with the latest in paving technology development through its human resource training program as well as collaborative research with local and overseas institutions. Earlier this year, PWD launched a new Standard Specification for Roadworks Section 4: Flexible Pavement. The new specification replaces the Standard Road Specification 1988: Chapter 4 and embodies years of research and experience by PWD on pavement technology. The new specification incorporates technical procedures on construction of specialty mixes such as Stone Mastic Asphalt, Porous Asphalt, Gap Graded Asphalt, Microsurfacing, Coloured Surfacing, Cold In place Recycling, Hot in Place Recycling, Chip Seal and Crack Sealing. It also specify procedures on construction of polymer modified asphalt, presents new generation Asphaltic concrete, for both wearing and binder course, and details the use of International Roughness Index (IRI) as a measure of surfacing quality at the end of a road project. PWD hopes that the new specification will help improve the overall quality of our road pavement. The rising crude oil price has caused a strain in the road construction industry due to increase in the cost of bituminous materials. PWD is therefore considering alternative methods of constructing new roads and rehabilitating exiting ones with the aim of curbing the cost inflation. New road construction and rehabilitation projects undertaken by PWD use stabilized bases and improved subgrade strength as means to reduce the thickness of asphaltic layers. Concrete road provides another alternative to avoid over dependence on bituminous products. In a recent seminar organized by REAM, PWD engineers presented a proposal on selection procedure to choose between flexible and rigid pavement.

4.0

CONCLUSION

With an ever-growing road infrastructure network to manage and the rising expectations of the road users to content with, the challenges facing the road authorities are becoming more complex. The need to balance road development with environmental preservation calls for the authorities to be prudent and objective-oriented in approving development plans. Engineers must be able to convince their administrative counterparts on the importance of adequate maintenance funds to reduce the bigger portion of total transport costs i.e. the road user cost. With limited funds, comprehensive and effective road management system should be in place to assist the managers in determining the optimum maintenance policy. Incorporation of quality management and procedures at the planning, design, construction and maintenance of road network ensures satisfactory level of service for the road users. The authorities should also use effective technologies in road construction, rehabilitation and maintenance to minimize life cycle cost. Above all, the road authorities should endeavor to provide safer roads for the public and not let the roads become a river of corpse. Consolidated preemptive actions by all relevant authorities in anticipation of the future transportation scenarios are therefore crucial to achieve our vision of becoming a developed nation by the year 2020.

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References: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Road Statistics 2006. Roads Branch, PWD, Malaysia. Kajian Pengurusan Aset Bagi Jalan-Jalan Negeri Utama . Roads Branch, PWD. Sept. 2001. Statistik Kemalangan Jalan Raya, Laman Web PDRM, Road Safety Auditing, Towards Better Maintenance of Roads In Malaysia . Jamilah Mohd Marjan. Roads Branch, PWD, Malaysia.

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