Overturned tanker causes massive traffic jam along NSE
THE STAR
IPOH: It was a stressful start for those travelling north for the long weekend after an overturned tanker near the Menora Tunnel snagged travel along the North-South Expressway.
The accident – just one among the five mishaps along the Perak stretch of the highway yesterday – caused cars to jam up until Simpang Pulai some 30km away.
It also led to the Ipoh Selatan exit, which many used to leave the highway to avoid the traffic jam, to be heavily congested yesterday. The congestion added hours to the travelling time with some drivers complaining that it took nine hours just to reach Penang.
Civil servant V. Ruvanesh, 25, said he had to attend a school interaction programme with students in Taiping but this got delayed.
“We left Ipoh at 8.30am and it took us five hours to reach there. We had to make a u-turn just before the tunnel and take the trunk road.
“But the trunk road was also very packed with cars and lorries. Because of us, the students had to wait. They were disappointed as we had to cut short the programme,” he said.
Twitter user Iffah Izati said she was stuck for over three hours right after the Jelapang toll.
“There’s always an accident near the Menora Tunnel. Hope Allah will protect our journey. All roads heading towards the north are (facing a traffic) jam,” she tweeted.
Flipped over: A crane working to lift the overturned tanker near the Menora Tunnel. — Bernama
“It is already over nine hours. I just want to go to Penang,” said Mimie Azman Shah.
Both the northbound lanes had to be closed to clean up the diesel spilled from the tanker. A contra lane was later opened on the opposite lane to allow for traffic flow.
Perak Traffic chief Supt Wan Jamil Wan Chik said the tanker, which was heading to Taiping from Kuala Lumpur, had overturned at around 8am after the driver lost control of the vehicle.
The 42-year-old driver from Batu Gajah, who was hurt in the incident, was sent to the Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun for treatment.
In a statement, PLUS apologised to the highway users caught in the traffic jam between Simpang Pulai and Ipoh.
It said that to ensure the route was safe for use, it had along with the Fire and Rescue Department, police, the Department of Environment and Hazmat team, cleaned the diesel spill at the site.
The lanes were opened at 2pm.
In KULAI, 15 motorists were involved a six-car pile up at KM36.5 southbound of the NSE at about 1.30pm yesterday.
Two of them had minor injuries while the rest were unharmed.
The crash, which caused a 5km crawl, happened when the driver of a Toyota MPV braked suddenly which led to a “chain reaction”, Kulai OCPD Supt Razak Said said
IPOH: It was a stressful start for those travelling north for the long weekend after an overturned tanker near the Menora Tunnel snagged travel along the North-South Expressway.
The accident – just one among the five mishaps along the Perak stretch of the highway yesterday – caused cars to jam up until Simpang Pulai some 30km away.
It also led to the Ipoh Selatan exit, which many used to leave the highway to avoid the traffic jam, to be heavily congested yesterday. The congestion added hours to the travelling time with some drivers complaining that it took nine hours just to reach Penang.
Civil servant V. Ruvanesh, 25, said he had to attend a school interaction programme with students in Taiping but this got delayed.
“We left Ipoh at 8.30am and it took us five hours to reach there. We had to make a u-turn just before the tunnel and take the trunk road.
“But the trunk road was also very packed with cars and lorries. Because of us, the students had to wait. They were disappointed as we had to cut short the programme,” he said.
Twitter user Iffah Izati said she was stuck for over three hours right after the Jelapang toll.
“There’s always an accident near the Menora Tunnel. Hope Allah will protect our journey. All roads heading towards the north are (facing a traffic) jam,” she tweeted.
Flipped over: A crane working to lift the overturned tanker near the Menora Tunnel. — Bernama
“It is already over nine hours. I just want to go to Penang,” said Mimie Azman Shah.
Both the northbound lanes had to be closed to clean up the diesel spilled from the tanker. A contra lane was later opened on the opposite lane to allow for traffic flow.
Perak Traffic chief Supt Wan Jamil Wan Chik said the tanker, which was heading to Taiping from Kuala Lumpur, had overturned at around 8am after the driver lost control of the vehicle.
The 42-year-old driver from Batu Gajah, who was hurt in the incident, was sent to the Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun for treatment.
In a statement, PLUS apologised to the highway users caught in the traffic jam between Simpang Pulai and Ipoh.
It said that to ensure the route was safe for use, it had along with the Fire and Rescue Department, police, the Department of Environment and Hazmat team, cleaned the diesel spill at the site.
The lanes were opened at 2pm.
In KULAI, 15 motorists were involved a six-car pile up at KM36.5 southbound of the NSE at about 1.30pm yesterday.
Two of them had minor injuries while the rest were unharmed.
The crash, which caused a 5km crawl, happened when the driver of a Toyota MPV braked suddenly which led to a “chain reaction”, Kulai OCPD Supt Razak Said said
