Penang govt urged to review road resurfacing techniques, SOP

GEORGE TOWN,  Aug 8 (Bernama) -- The Penang government has been urged to review existing road resurfacing techniques and standard operating procedure which currently only treats the surface of the road.

Oh Ah Teong (DAP-Batu Lancang) said the current technique used was to resurface the road with a new six-centimetre layer of tar. 

"I am afraid that after being re-tarred several times, the road will become thicker,” he said, adding that if a road was re-tarred six inches every five years, in 50 years it would be 60 cm or about two feet thick, about 10 times the original thickness,” he said.

 Speaking when debating the motion of thanks for the Penang Yang Dipertua Negeri’s address at the State Legislative Assembly sitting here today, Oh said if this situation continues, Penang would face the risk of major floods in the coming 50 years.

He added that a better method was the ‘milling’ technique which could support 15,816,000 litres of rainwater.

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ASSEMBLY-PENANG (ROADS) 2 (LAST) GEORGE TOWN

With the current road re-surfacing method, he said, 15,816,000 litres of rainwater would run-off to lower areas.

Ong also pointed out the the quality of tarred roads in the state was lower than those in other countries like Singapore, Korea, Japan and China which had sturdier roads which could even support an aircraft landing. 

On the other hand, he said, each time heavy rain falls, tarred roads in Penang would have puddles and holes.

“We also have roads in Penang full of patchwork and puddles. This projects a backward image, especially with the constant digging and patching of roads which affect the surfaces,” he said.

Ong added that the concrete road dividers also contributed to floods as the rainwater could not be absorbed.

-- BERNAMA