Is the MRR2 a death trap?

Samy Vellu says the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) is safe. The foreign consultant says it is unsafe. What went wrong and why are Malaysians being allowed to continue using what may be a death trap? Do we need the elevated highway to collapse at a loss of many lives before we do something? Or does it mean ‘doing something’ would result in many of Samy’s friends, such as Maunsell Sharma & Zakaria Sdn Bhd, getting into trouble (which will then disqualify them from the Second Penang Bridge project) and that is why the government is doing nothing?

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin


Maunsell, Sharma & Zakaria sues Utusan
18 March 2006
Civil Engineering Design Consultant, Maunsell Sharma & Zakaria, the consulting firm for the design of Ampang-KL Elevated Highway (KLT) has sued Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd for RM50mil for libel.
Maunsell Sharma & Zakaria Sdn Bhd, filed the suit at the Civil Division High Court registry at Wisma Denmark in Jalan Ampang here yesterday through their lawyer D.P. Vijandran.
In the suit, the firm claimed that the Utusan Malaysia daily had published defamatory words in two page-one articles on Feb 9 and 10.
It said the articles alleged that there were many cracks in the highway and that these were caused by flaws in the engineering design of the highway.
Apart from damages, the company is seeking an injunction, an apology, interest and costs.
Maunsell Sharma & Zakaria is also the design consultant for Middle-ring Road Two (MRR2).
Yesterday, Works Minister Samy Vellu admitted in Parliament that defective design was one of the reasons for the cracks in the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2).
"The steel placement did not follow specifications," Samy said in reply to a question from Speaker Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib.
Ramli had interrupted Samy Vellu when the minister was giving a technical explanation for the cracks on the MRR2 highway in reply to questions from Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob (BN-Bera) and other MPs.
Samy Vellu said his ministry monitored bridges and flyovers but only the MRR2 was found to have "serious defects".

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Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed said that two of the six lanes will be closed for the next three weeks until its team of consultants have studied the damage.
He said that three of the 18 carbon fibre panels on Pillar 28 had peeled off at about 9am on Sunday, causing some clumps of concrete to fall.
The structure was safe, he however claimed.
City Deputy Traffic Chief DSP Ng Fook Long said that police closed that section of the MRR2 at 10.30am following a directive from the Public Works Department (JKR) and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
The closure caused massive jams in many parts of the city.
The MRR2 is no stranger to this kind of controversy. In 2004, residents noticed cracks in 31 of the 33 pillars supporting the flyover.
Then the Works Minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu at first maintained that the cracks were not due to any design flaw.
However, a consultants' study later found that design deficiencies and improper anchoring at the crossbeams were responsible for the cracks.
The Government spent RM70mil to undo the damage.
The elevated highway was also closed in 2006 for further repairs. – The Star, 3 August 2008
READ MORE HERE: Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Federal_Route_28)