KUALA LUMPUR- The Public Works Department (PWD) will be working with road safety related enforcement agencies from Oct 7 to 20 to help reduce accidents on the North-South Expressway (NSE) and all its highways.

Work Minister Datuk seri S. Samy Vellu said the department?s patrolling teams will not only monitor the highway?s road condition but also help to report road accidents and monitor the traffic flow.

He said the PWD had inspected the highways for defects and repairs, and on-going  maintenance had also been carried out to ensure the expressway are much safer for the festive rush home.

"The PWD will stop all its maintenance and repair works along the highways during the festive seasons.

"The third lane of the NSE between Seremban and Ayer Keroh, Rawang and Tanjung Malim (South-bound only) will also be opened during the festive season,? he told reported after launching a road safety campaign yesterday.

SamyVellu said the speed limit of federal and state roads will be reduce by  10km/h from Saturday to Oct 12

He said heavy vehicles like trailers will be prohibited from using the highway three days before and after Hari Raya Aidilfitri on Oct 13.

He also urged motorists not to use the highway?s emergency lanes which are meant for  emergencies .

On the possible toll hike next year by PLUS, Samy Vellu said the government guaranteed that there will be no price hike until cabinet approval, even though the contract PLUS allowed it to raise toll from Jan 1.

He said the ministry is still discussing with the   highway concessionaires and  the  proposal  will be tabled in a cabinet meeting for approval.

On the collapse of eight concrete beams of the uncompleted Kajang-Seremban Highway on the Pajam- Nilai trunk  road last Thursday, Samy Vellu said the highway contractor IJM Corp Bhd had sent him a letter a apology, and assured him that it would be extra careful in handling similar projects in the future.

He said according to the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) report, the first beam which collapsed and caused a the  domino effect to other beams, was not placed properly and it slipped when it was being re-adjusted