Not so SMART TUNNEL?

Taken from Malaysia Today

 

26/06: Smart tunnel: They can only bluff the PM

Category: General

Posted by: Raja Petra

This must be the joke of the century!

Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew

You don’t need to inspect the lowest level of the Smart system to know that MMC-Gamuda or the DID have not tested it for flood mitigation.

That’s not because they have admitted so but simply because they have not found a solution for desiltation.

What’s desiltation? You see, flood water being flood water, it’ s not clean. In fact, it is always full of mud (silt) and rubbish. That’s why after every flood, the biggest headache is washing the mud away (desiltation).

So, if the concessionaire or the DID really test the lowest level of the Smart system for flood mitigation, the entire level will be filled with mud. They have not thought of how to clean up the tunnels.

By now, you must have understood why they have not tested it earlier. And more so because both the inlet and outlet of the tunnels were not completed when Kuala Lumpur was hit with three flash floods all within two weeks in early June.

The authority has just announced that the entire tunnel is now completed on 23 June 2007 ( after heavy shelling by the PM one night after his new marriage). But that’s another “bullshit”. Why do I say that?

Just make a trip to Taman Desa and you would know what I mean.

They could only bluff the PM, who’s now away in Italy.

Two weeks ago, right before I went to inspect the Smart tunnel for the first time with other DAP MPs and engineers, I was having lunch at the restaurant next to the Danau Desa pond. At that point of time, the pond, which is part of the Smart system, was not ready for flood mitigation.

Even today, the pond is far from ready. It would not be ready in another 3 months according to the experts whom I have consulted.

This evening, I saw the workers were still busy widening and deepening the pond. And guess what, they have not even completed the outlet ( leaving the pond into Sg Kerayong).

Out of fear of another flash flood, as a temporary measure I guess, the contractors has just fixed some 10 GI (galvanised iron) pipes of various sizes to drain the water from the pond with the help of water pumps. Guess what, the water flows from the pond to a normal monsoon drain (only 2 feet wide by 4 feet deep) parellel to the main road, before discharging the water to a U-Culvert drains some 100 meters away. This U-Culvert drain is connected to the Sg Kerayong some distance “downstream”.

It appears to us that if there is another flash flood hitting KL in one of these days, the authority may really open up the lowest level of the Smart tunnel to test it out, and then relying on these pipes to drain the water to the normal monsoon drains (with the help of water pumps) and then to the U-Culvert drain before flowing into Sg Kerayong. So do not be too surprise if the entire road from Danau Desa to Old Klang Road area will be flooded ( the normal monsoon drains certainly could not cope with such influx of water from the pond).

Earlier, I was talking about how difficult it would be to do desiltation for the Smart tunnel. If they really open up the second level (and even the third level), imagine what would happen to the lightings, equipments and road furniture on these two levels, not forgetting about the desiltation works after the flood.

I would bet with bloggers that the authority may not have the guts to test the Smart system for water mitigation. Not even the lowest level if you asked me. Am I saying the authority may not even test the tunnnel for flood mitigation at all? You bet!

Last Saturday, at a briefing in Universiti Malaya on the Smart tunnel conducted by the DID chief , he obviously was embarrased by the DAP Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai who played the video clips (showing the massive leakages ) of the tunnel in the meeting.

Out of frustration, he made a “stupid” and irresponsible remark; he said that ” those who think the Smart tunnel was not safe, don’t use it.”

This fler also ”bullshit” by saying that all the cost of building the Smart tunnel came from the concessionaire and “it’s ok ” to let them go bust!

In fact, the concessionaire only paid about RM600 million for the tunnel; the rest of the RM 1. 5 billion came from Malaysian taxpayers! If you asked me, he ’s as arrogant as the great Samy.

Tomorrow morning at 11 am, DAP Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun will move a motion to debate on ” why the ‘Smart’ tunnel is actually not very smart”!

All the best to you, Sdr Fong.

PM: Speed up mitigation work

KUALA LUMPUR: All flood mitigation projects should be speeded up to prevent the federal capital from being hit by floods, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.

“I want all projects such as the deepening of rivers and construction of retention ponds to be completed ahead of schedule.

“You must hurry up with these efforts,” he said at Kuala Lumpur City Hall yesterday during a briefing on the flood which paralysed Kuala Lumpur for at least three hours on Sunday night.

Three hours of rain caused many parts to be under water.

The floods also caused traffic to come to a standstill throughout the city.

Two people were injured when they were pinned under a fallen tree at Dataran Merdeka after the rain.

Abdullah said the main project which should be quickly completed was the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) project and the flood mitigation projects for Sungai Klang, Sungai Gombak, Sungai Batu and Sungai Kerayong.

He said everyone should mobilise more resources to enable this to happen.

“It seems that the floods this time covered more areas. How long must we face this?” he said.

He said personnel involved in emergency programmes for floods should also be ready at all times.

This was because floods were now non-seasonal.

Abdullah said the authorities should also be prepared to clear rubbish which caused rivers and drains to clog up, calling them “the human factors” which caused flooding.

Deputy Federal Territory Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop, who was one of those who gave the briefing, told reporters later yesterday that a special task force would be formed to look into details of the flood mitigation projects and ensure that they were completed earlier than scheduled.

“We understand the frustrations of the people.

“We will work hard to prevent floods from happening,” he added.

He said between 4.30pm and 9pm on Sunday, 72mm of rain fell in the city. The average rainfall for the city for June is about 130mm.

Abu Seman said about 30 areas here were flooded on Sunday night but no one was evacuated.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that the public had a role to play in preventing floods by not throwing rubbish into rivers.

“These are the signs that the environment is not being looked after,” he said after visiting the Royal Malaysian Navy’s new Sepangar Bay base in Sabah.

Smart tunnel alone cannot curb floods

By PARVEEN GILL

THE Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel will not be able to put an end to the flash floods problem faced by many KLites, on its own.

While the Smart tunnel would help ease traffic congestion at the southern main gateway to the city centre near Sungei Besi and provide a storm water management system to mitigate flooding problems in Kuala Lumpur, it is only one of the two components needed to solve flash floods in the Klang Valley.

The other component includes the construction of some 200 dams and flood retention ponds.

The Smart tunnels and the ponds are supposed to complement each other and only then would the problem be solved.

This was what Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia director-general Datuk Paduka Keizrul Abdullah told reporters recently in an attempt to clarify and address issues that were raised by the public following last week’s flash floods.

Inundated: A file picture of the flooded Jalan Tun Sambanthan in Brickfields.

“The Smart tunnel highway began operation on May 14 but it would only start to divert storm water flows next month and not as assumed by many. Secondly, the Smart project comprises two components, the Smart tunnel and storage reservoir,” he said.

“In order to prevent flooding in Kuala Lumpur, water from flash flood prone areas will flow to the river and the Smart tunnel will serve in channelling the overflow of water to the ponds. Only when the two components are in operation together will the flash floods stop,” he said.

Keizrul said currently only 100 of the 200 ponds had been constructed and completed.

The ponds that are still under construction include the Sri Johor pond (expected to be completed in January next year), the Batu, Jinjang ponds, two-flood storage plans (Rancangan Tambatan Banjir) for Sungai Kerayong and another for Sungai Damansara.

Channeling works for Sg Kerayong is expected to be completed in June next year.

Keizrul said that with the completion of the Smart tunnel and ponds, flash floods are unlikely to occur at areas such as Jalan Parliament, Jalan Duta, Jalan Travers, Jalan Maarof and Jalan Bangsar.

“However, the Government has come up with a ruling that future development projects include good drainage system and ponds.

“This is because new development causes water level in rivers to rise up to three times higher,” he said, adding that people should also stop throwing garbage into the river as it prevents smooth flowing of the water.

Keizrul said following the ruling, it was the responsibility of the engineer or architect to ensure that new development projects include water storage reservoir.

If the engineer or architect obtain the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) by fraud and authorities discover this fact later, they will be referred to their respective professional bodies before their licences are cancelled.

Category for SMART TUNNEL & FLOODS IN KL

Because our leaders have a track record of making empty promises and we have a track record of forgetting what they said, I am now creating a category called Smart Tunnel to hold all post on flooding in KL.

Hopefully we will be able to track what was said and what actually happens….. Why choose the SMART Tunnel: a: because of its RM2.1 billion price tag so there is a public interest element to it and b: because flooding in KL just gets from bad to worse and c: no one is prepared to take accountability for either the tunnel or the flooding.

With regards to my comment: Our leaders dont have a track record: Just click on the MAMPU category and you will see what I mean….

SMART Tunnel Ready to Go

This is take from today’s Star.  In essence, the SMART tunnel is ready to go and this is what the Director General had to say:

SMART Tunnel channel ready to divert 90% of floodwaters

PETALING JAYA: The much anticipated and debated SMART Tunnel flood channel component kicked into operation yesterday, set to alleviate flood problems which have plagued Kuala Lumpur for a long time.

In announcing this, Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) director-general Datuk Keizrul Abdullah said the RM2.1bil project would help divert 90% of the city’s floods.

“The main rivers which run through the city – Klang , Gombak and Batu – contribute much to the flash floods when their banks overflow from incessant rain.

“With the SMART tunnel flood channel component now operational, 90% of the floodwaters can be diverted away from the usual flood-prone areas such as Masjid Jamek and Dataran Merdeka,” he said.

He explained that the floodwaters would be diverted to water retention ponds in Kampung Berembang (near Jalan Ampang) and Taman Desa (Jalan Klang Lama) and slowly be dispersed into rivers after a flood.

The Kampung Berembang pond can hold a capacity of 600,000 cubic metres of floodwaters, while the Taman Desa pond 1.4 million cubic metres. The SMART Tunnel can divert 1 million cubic metres of floodwaters.

 Let’s see how well this really work. I guess the Key Performance measure is that KL should not have anymore floods…right?

SMART Tunnel and KL Floods

RM2 toll for SMART tunnel use – read it here

PETALING JAYA: Users of the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) will be charged a RM2 toll from 11.59pm on June 14, Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said Monday.

SMART toll to start on Friday

KUALA LUMPUR: Toll collection at the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) motorway will start at midnight on Friday, Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said.

“I’ll announce the toll rate in one or two days,” he told reporters after opening the Hindu Dharma Mamandram national delegates’ meeting in Batu Caves yesterday.

“I can’t guarantee there’ll be a reasonable toll because it costs a lot of money to build the tunnel,” he said.

The RM1.9bil project between Jalan Sungai Besi and Jalan Ampang includes a 3.3km road tunnel costing RM650mil. – Bernama

While we celebrate the SMART Tunnel lets also see what was happening last night in KL:

Some great photos form the STAR (very nice job) here

Massive traffic jam near Indonesian Embassy at Jalan Tun Razak tunnel due the heavy down pour in Kuala Lumpur last night. Brian Moh /The Star. – 11 June, 2007

Please note the flooded underpass which I am absolutely certain leads to the or is from the entrance of the SMART tunnel!

All major roads in KL are at a standstill because of flooding. Picture taken at Jalan Sultan Ismail. – 11 June, 2007

It really is ironic that we have done a feat of engineering with the construction of the SMART Tunnel and yet KL is flooded! Well I guess its time to sit back and listen to all the excuses that will be spewing forth.

By the way, I wouldn’t pay RM2 to be in the SMART tunnel with flooding going on……..