JKR DEPLOYS 'LAUNCHING NOSE' SYSTEM FOR BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION IN FLOOD-HIT AREAS

‎KUALA LANGAT, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- The Public Works Department (JKR) has begun deploying the 'Launching Nose' system to construct temporary bridges in states where infrastructure has been damaged by floods.

Works Minister, Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, said that as of this morning, 107 affected locations have been identified, including one bridge collapse in Kelantan, 49 flash flood sites, 35 flood sites, 12 landslides and five locations each for road collapses and sinkholes.

He confirmed that the natural disasters have also impacted 50 federal roads and 57 state roads in Perlis, Kedah, Perak, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu and Selangor.

“We have deployed the new RM21 million 'Launching Nose' system to the affected states to greatly simplify Bailey bridge installation where needed,” he said after officiating a signalised pedestrian crossing at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) Ladang Gadong.

Nanta said the new pedestrian crossing at SJKT Ladang Gadong will improve safety for the school's pupils and local community, demonstrating the ministry's commitment to road safety.

The RM700,000 project is a collaboration between the Ministry of Works and the World Health Organisation (WHO), under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety.

Nanta added that this cooperation also involves sharing accident data through the Road Accident Management System and running road safety public awareness campaigns on WHO's media platforms. 

In a separate matter, Nanta said that efforts to upgrade road safety infrastructure under the MyJalan programme are currently in progress, focused on improving safety at accident-prone sites, known as blackspots.

"For 2025, an allocation of RM80 million has been fully utilised for the safety and comfort of motorists. This includes improvements at 90 high-risk accident areas and the installation of new street lighting at 257 accident-prone locations where poor visibility was a factor.

"Furthermore, the work involves installing 16 new traffic lights at dangerous junctions, constructing four new pedestrian footbridges across the country and building 35 signalised pedestrian crossings.

"This brings the total number of signalised pedestrian crossings built nationwide under this programme to 153 since its inception in 2018," he said. 

-- BERNAMA‎