Checks by Bernama since yesterday found that the traffic was slow moving from early morning until this afternoon and the situation worsened when motorists from Kota Bharu also used the route before entering the East Coast Expressway 2.
Another area with massive traffic congestion was around Kampong Chalok. However, traffic was smooth from Kuala Terengganu towards Besut.
A motorist from Kota Bharu, Ahmad Sabri Hasan, 35, said it took him more than six hours from Kota Baru to the Gemuruh toll plaza due to massive traffic jams at several areas.
“Normally, it takes about only two hours to drive from my hometown to this toll plaza, but today, it is over five hours. There were too many cars on the road.
“The traffic was at a crawl stretching over 20km especially at Kampung Chalok, Kampung Guntong and Kampung Gemuruh,” he said.
Ahmad Naufal Mustakin Ahmad Radzi, 27, took almost three hours to travel from his village in Besut to Kampung Gemuruh in order to use the LPT 2.
“Normally, the journey would take less than two hours. It’s too congested today because people from Kelantan are also using the same route to get to LPT 2,” he said.
A 30-year-old teacher, Norhafiza Ismail suggested that the federal and state governments should continue with the construction of East Coast Expressway 3, connecting Gemuruh and Tumpat, Kelantan, to overcome the congestion.
“I heard that they are studying on building the LPT3. This is very much needed because the traffic is like this during school holidays and festive seasons,” said Norhafiza, who works in Pontian, Johor.
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