The Special Traffic Dispersal Committee has identified 77 congestion hotspots in the Greater Johor Bahru (JB) area, the Johor State Assembly was told.
“Short, medium and long-term solutions are being implemented to address congestion issues in the identified areas,” said Mohamad Fazli Mohammad Salleh, chairman of the State Public Works, Transportation, Infrastructure, and Communications Committee.
He claimed that these steps are required to guarantee that the Rapid Transit System (RTS) station’s operations will not only have technological, social, and economic effects, but also aid in easing Greater JB’s traffic.
“For short-term solutions, traffic management has been carried out in several areas, such as assistance from traffic police for controls, road openings and closures, and the use of flexible posts to prevent vehicles from queue-cutting at intersections,” he said.
He was responding to Marina Ibrahim’s (DAP-Skudai) inquiry about the state government’s guarantee that the RTS project will not cause traffic congestion in Johor Bahru city and the Greater JB area.
With a total budget of more than RM1.28 billion, Mohamad Fazli stated that a number of road widening and improvement projects are anticipated to be finished in 2026 and 2027, just in time for the RTS to go into service. It is also anticipated that these projects will help reduce traffic in Greater JB and the surrounding areas.
“Among them is the upgrading and construction of a new road in Gelang Patah (J4) from the Gelang Patah CIQ intersection to the four-way traffic light intersection at Tanjung Pelepas (costing RM62.5 million, started in 2020, expected to be completed in 2026).
“Other projects include upgrading Phase 2B of the Pasir Gudang Highway (FT17) and the intersection from Bandar Seri Alam/Taman Rinting to Pasir Gudang (costing RM78 million, started in 2023, expected to be completed in 2026) and the elevated intersection project from EDL–Johor Bahru City Centre–Stulang Laut (costing RM371.7 million, started this year, expected to be completed in 2028),” he said.
Mohammed Fazli also emphasised the RM160 million project to upgrade the Senai-Desaru Motorway (SDE) from a two-lane two-way to a four-lane two-way highway over a 9.4-kilometer stretch. The project began this year and is anticipated to be finished in 2026. Additionally, RM86.6 million was spent to build a directional ramp at the intersection of SDE and Bandar Penawar, which began in 2022 and is anticipated to be finished in 2026.
Several large-scale projects and initiatives are also planned for medium and long-term measures, he said, including the development of public transport corridors like the East-West Corridor (KTM), the Northern Corridor (Komuter), the Northern Corridor (Skudai), the Western Corridor (Iskandar), the Eastern Corridor (Tebrau), and several others.
“In addition to public transport corridor development, projects involving infrastructure such as the construction of new intersections, new roads, and road widening, including the expansion of the North-South Expressway and SDE, have been scheduled based on the current development projections of the state,” he said.
As for the RTS, which is anticipated to be finished in 2026 and put into service by 2027, Mohamad Fazli stated that it will assist in lowering the number of vehicles on the Johor Causeway, which frequently faces extreme traffic.
“With faster transportation routes, we expect 20% users who previously used private vehicles may switch to the RTS.
“The RTS, which connects Johor Bahru to Singapore, is expected to bring significant benefits to residents, workers, and visitors crossing between the two countries,” he said.
