Guys, Relax! There's Nothing Unstable About That LRT Beam In Front Of Subang Parade
Social media was abuzz today after a photograph of a "tilting" LRT beam along the Federal Highway near Subang Jaya went viral.
By Sadho Ram — 23 Nov 2014, 02:55 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
If in case you haven't been living off the Internet today, chances are you must have seen photos of a "falling" Light Rail Transit (LRT) beam circulating on social media platforms like Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook, causing a stir among netizens
Watch out guys! LRT beam in front of Subang Parade tilted, federal highway from KL to Klang's blocked. pic.twitter.com/MQrZAsbN8x
— Anabelle Ong Su Ling (@belleong) November 23, 2014
Lrt beam in front of Subang Parade is coming down.Avoid federal highway. From kl to klang via federal highway blocked pic.twitter.com/PTPeBwnhL7
— Arianna.S (@ariannalyn1012) November 23, 2014
Beware guys! LRT beam In front of Subang Parade is about to coming down. pic.twitter.com/sOZAkL1TEU
— DannyOne 溫力銘 (@dannyone) November 23, 2014
Woke up with msgs about avoiding federal hwy as LRT beam in front Subang Parade has technical issues. Scary! pic.twitter.com/A3He9PrnGB
— Sylvia Sabrina Chew (@Sylviasab) November 23, 2014
“Confirmed:The LRT beam in front of Subang Parade is in danger of collapse.Traffic from KL/PJ has been blocked. pic.twitter.com/wARzE6u695
— Lee Hwa Beng (@hwabeng) November 23, 2014
However, a spokesman for the LRT extension project has now confirmed to The Star that there was nothing unstable about the "falling" LRT beam in front of the Subang Parade. The spokesman even assured that the surrounding roads are safe for use.
It is learnt that vehicles heading to Shah Alam through the Glenmarie-Subang route had to be diverted at about 3pm due to an incident involving a gantry crane on Saturday.
However, the roads had been cleared and reopened as of 8pm, Saturday.
It was understood that that Prasarana Malaysia Bhd had also sent its Safety Patrol Unit to assist with the traffic diversion
The SPU is under the Safety, Health, and Environment Department of Prasarana Integrated Management and Engineering Services Sdn Bhd (PRIME). The SPU was established in March this year and comprises of 24 officers who are on duty 24 hours.
Their job is to patrol and monitor the company’s assets and facilities as well as ensure public safety.
According to the spokesman, contractors were preparing for night work to lift concrete blocks when they noticed an "anomaly" with the gantry crane at about 2pm
“As soon as they discovered the anomaly, their mission was to bring the crane down in the interest of public safety.
“We had to close down the roads to prevent harm on road users,” he added.
He also said it was only the Federal Highway that was affected by road closures but traffic has since cleared up
“It wasn’t a full closure but it caused congestion. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to road users,” he added.
The spokesman explained that investigations into the "anomaly" are still ongoing.