Elevated highway would have been better

TS,Thursday 20 December 2011 

I refer to the editorial “Kuala Lumpur’s SMART Tunnel not looking so smart anymore” (The Star, Dec 20). 

Instead of constructing a double-decker tunnel for traffic that has to be closed for draining flood water, the better option would have been building an elevated highway and a smaller drainage tunnel. 

The overall cost would have been much less than the RM1.9bil spent on SMART. 

Ironically, the tunnel is often closed to the public when it is needed most by motorists caught in chockablock traffic after heavy rain. 

An elevated highway would have been the perfect conduit to channel such traffic. 

The maintenance cost would also be much lower than a state-of-the-art tunnel. 

The basement car park of a popular shopping centre along Jalan Sultan Ismail was recently flooded. Many years ago, while driving out of the same car park, I was caught in an unusual slow traffic. 

I had to switch off the air-conditioner to prevent my car’s engine overheating and only when I wound down the windows did I realise that the air in the basement car park was unbearably hot. 

Since the incident, I have always parked on the roof of this shopping centre. 

When SMART was opened in 2007, I used it several times for the experience. I have watched in awe the documentary of its engineering feat. 

However, I usually use the surface road along the same stretch which I pass by almost daily and am thankful that about half the traffic has been diverted to SMART. 

YS Chan 

Kuala Lumpur