Lyna Mohamad
The proposed overhead pedestrian bridge across Jalan Gadong, Kampong Jangsak will ease the heavy traffic flow while providing a safer avenue for students and parents to cross the road.
Pehin Kapitan Lela Diraja Dato Paduka Goh King Chin has contributed towards the construction of the bridge across the road in front of Seri Mulia Sarjana School (SMSS).
A Doa Selamat ceremony was held at the project site yesterday in the presence of Permanent Secretary (Infrastructure, Housing and Professional) at the Ministry of Development (MoD) Ir Haji Amar Hishamuddin bin Pehin Orang Kaya Ama Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Zakaria.
Pehin Kapitan Lela Diraja Dato Paduka Goh along with senior officials from the Public Works Department (JKR) and MoD and school representative principal Puteri Maharani and the imam of Jubli Perak Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque attended the event.
Pehin Kapitan Lela Diraja Dato Paduka Goh said having stayed in Kampong Jangsak for more than 30 years, he noticed changes in the traffic along the road, which became congested during rush hours with the building of the school and the mosque. He has seen children with their parents crossing the road due to insufficient parking space at the school.
Concerned with young children climbing over the barrier, which was too high for some, the prominent business figure decided to bear the total cost for the overhead pedestrian bridge.
Work on the bridge, which will also serve the Jubli Perak Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque began on February 24, 2023 at a cost of BND330,000.
The principal, on behalf of the school, thanked Pehin Kapitan Lela Diraja Dato Paduka Goh for the pedestrian bridge and hoped parents would find the bridge useful in ensuring the children’s safety.
“For many years, road users endure congestion as a result of parents and children crossing the main road on foot, exposed to high-speed oncoming traffic which has been a major headache.”
She said the school has about 1,100 students and without sufficient parking space, parents tend to double- and triple-park along the slip and main road. The slow traffic flow also affects mosque congregants as the mosque’s gates are often blocked.
“Hopefully the pedestrian bridge, road fencing and additional road markers provided by Pehin Kapitan Lela Diraja Dato Paduka Goh will be facilitated by the parents and students, whose safety will be ensured. The school also hopes the public will appreciate the easing of traffic congestion that has been an issue for many years.”
The overhead pedestrian bridge will span four lanes of Jalan Gadong.