Proposed Damansara Shah Alam Highway (DASH)

There has been a newspaper report with regard to a new proposed Damansara Shah Alam Highway (DASH) with a proposed alignment which would cut through Mutiara Damansara to connect the highway from Puncak Alam in Shah Alam to the Sprint and LDP highways in Petaling Jaya.

According to STAR Newspaper cutting on 19 Dec. 2011, the article stated :

MUTIARA Damansara residents in Petaling Jaya are saying a firm no to a proposed highway that will cut through their neighbourhood.

Residents found out about the proposal to build the Damansara Shah Alam Highway (DASH) along Jalan PJU 7/7 and PJU 7/1 when they saw contractors surveying the land in the area.

Mutiara Damansara Owners and Residents Association (Mudora) president Tony Chung said there were houses and shops on either side of PJU 7/7 and it was not a wide road.

Chung, 41, said residents were told that the alignment would cut through Mutiara Damansara to connect the highway from Puncak Alam in Shah Alam to the Sprint and LDP highways in Petaling Jaya.

“We have not been consulted on the matter and we have written to the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) and highway concessionaire Projek Lintasan Kota Sdn Bhd (Prolintas) to object against the alignment,” he told reporters at the Mutiara Rini sales office on Friday.

Residents also found out that the original proposed alignment went through Jalan PJU 8/1 in Damansara Perdana before joining up with the Sprint and LDP highways.

Action committee member Syed Mustapha Ibrahim, 61, said it was unacceptable to build such a highway in the middle of a well-designed and mature township.

“There is no land alienated for highways here, so why must they build one only after the houses have been built?” asked Syed, who has been staying there for seven years.

He said if the proposal was approved, Mutiara Damansara residents would be sandwiched between the highway and the MRT lines.

“Both projects are supposed to start in mid-2012 so we will have to deal with all the heavy construction and noise pollution,” he said.

Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong, who is also a Selangor executive council member, said the highway concessionaire had briefed the state government on the proposed highway two weeks ago.

“We have listened to their proposals but it is not up to the state to decide. It will be up to the local council,” said Wong.

She said there were five proposed highways that were not in the structure plan or the local plan, so the proposals would have to go through public consultation and hearing.

She said there were a few other proposals, including one that cut through the Kota Damansara Community Forest.

There was also a proposal to build the highway along Persiaran Surian, which had since been identified as part of the MRT route.

Wong said even at Persiaran Surian, many people had been asking for the MRT to go underground because there was a proposal to build a flyover to alleviate congestion along the busy road based on a traffic study conducted by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).

MBPJ councillor Chan Chee Kong said the council had been briefed on the project but no application had been forwarded by the highway concessionaire.

“We have requested them to get feedback from the residents because they are the affected parties. If they want to put in an application, it is part of the process to consult residents,” he said.

Chan said even the proposal to go through Damansara Perdana was not feasible because there were many condominium blocks along Jalan PJU 8/1.

Prolintas and MHA were contacted but have yet to issue any comments on the matter.