The congestion on the Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP),has been blamed on the several unexpected and large-scale developments on the stretch in the last five years.
For instance, projects like the Desa Park City, Sunway Syarikat Permodalan Kebangsaan (SPK), Damansara Perdana, Mutiara Damansara, Kota Damansara, Sunway Damansara, Bandar Utama, Kelana Jaya, Dataran Prima, Bandar Sunway and Puchong, Unfortunately, they were without alternative traffic dispersal points.
The result is traffic generated by these development tend to opt for the LDP through the many junctions there, said Malaysia Highway Authority director-general Datuk Ir Mohamed Razali Othman.
"We expected some development, but didn't expect it so fast. These have been taking place in the last five years. That is why when it involves development like housing, the local councils should not rely on the highway alone. They should look for their own roads," he said.
LLM, Razali said, over the years carried out studies on the impact the development would have on the highway corridor (on the left and right side of the stretch), but stressed they have no control over developments in nearby areas.
As far as new developments are concerned, local authorities must strive to find alternative roads.
"We can plan. But ultimately when it involves housing, local councils should see that there are other roads available, and not rely on this highway," said Mohamed Razali.
Asked on the projection of the 40km LDP which was open to users in 1999, and has now hit its limits, he declined comment, except to say that the alternative must be in place without delay.
"We cannot wait till the whole thing (stretch) is jammed. It should be soon within the next two to three years," he explained.
The LDP has been recoding a high volume of traffic since last year.
Despite the many challenges that the LDP faced in terms of congestion, MHA is in close liaison with Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd, the highway concessionaire, to see what sort of plans could be implemented to mitigate congestion.