THE long-awaited Jalan Harapan link in Petaling Jaya will finally be completed by December this year.

The road project to connect Jalan Damansara to the Sprint Highway, which after numerous setbacks finally began at the end of 2013, is now about 86% completed and is moving according to schedule.

Previously, the project had been stalled several times due to other development projects in the area and the sewerage upgrading works.

There have also been problems with the various utility companies which were required to relocate their cables and pipes to make way for the project.

“Road works by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) are almost completed and the remaining 14% work left is to be done by the utility companies,” said MBPJ councillor Jamaliah Jamaludin.

She added that this RM15mil project is carried out in three phases, and once the second phase is completed, the road will be opened to the public.

The third phase, which covers widening of the roads, will commence next year.

Measuring 1.3km long, the completion of phase two also involves the widening of drains along Jalan Harapan, which was one of the concerns highlighted by residents in Section 19.

Due to the frequent floods in the area, residents had previously requested for drains to be upgraded to prevent flooding.

According to MBPJ, drain upgrades to the maximum width and depth and will be monitored once the road is opened to the public.

Once in operation, this three-lane dual-carriage link is aimed at easing traffic flow for motorists coming from Jalan Universiti, Section 17, Section 20 and SS2.

“Motorists do not have to go through the Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP) or Federal Highway as they can use this link instead.

“Traffic will be much smoother once this link is in operation as it would help reduce congestion in the city,” said Damansara Utama assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin.

Yeo lauded MBPJ for implementing the Improvement Service Fund (ISF) on all property developers in the city which required developers to pay a fee for infrastructure development purposes.

The amount each developer has to pay per project varies according to the project type and size.

“MBPJ used the money collected under ISF to fund this Jalan Harapan road project,” she said.