Hari Raya Traffic – Alternative routes to avoid the Balik Kampung Hassle

Hari Raya Traffic Jam - Alternative routes to avoid the Balik Kampung Hassle

There are several hot spots on our roads today that will get super congested this festive season. Here’s some roads to avoid the traffic madness this Raya holidays.

To East Coast

Avoid Karak Highway

Instead use the SILK Highway either via LDP or SKVE to enter LEKAS, and enter Route 86. This will allow you to travel to the east via Route 9 to Karak (northbound) or Kuala Pilah (southbound) and Route 11 to Kuantan. This way you can avoid the absolute gridlock that leads into karak highway itself, which remains congested all the way from before the Gombak toll (via MRR2 from cheras and batu caves, DUKE and SPE highways).

Route 9

While it adds a considerable amount of distance, at least you have the liberty to pick and choose your stop points along the journey, which would be far less crowded than on the LPT, and can turn off the road at more points than on the highway. Which would be hugely beneficial when travelling with young kids and elderly parents.

Route 86

Traffic on the 86 will still be reasonably high, even during night time, but still a far cry from the gridlock experienced on major highways. Plus you have the liberty to stop more leisurely between the towns and the fuel stations, and restaurants in between, depending on the time of the day.

Route 11, 12, and 3

To go further down the east coast, you can use route 11 and 12 between Jempol and Muadzam Shah, and choose to go north to Gambang, which will take you to LPT 2 towards Terengganu, or go towards Kuantan. Or you can head further eastwards towards Kuala Rompin and Pekan for a scenic beach side drive using Route 3.

Northbound

Accessing WCE past Tanjung Karang.

Although the WCE is accessible from Bukit Raja, you can get into a massive bottleneck in Tanjung Karang. So if you plan to escape the madness of Route 1 and the North South Expressway, we suggest you turn off the NSE at Behrang, and head straight to Sungai Besar or Sabak via the B44 before starting on the WCE. Be advised theres no proper R&R’s along this highway between Sabak and Changkat Jering.

WCE

You will bypass most of the usual bottlenecks, mainly Trolak, Tapah, Gua Tempurung, Menora Tunnel, Padang Renggas and dont have to fight parking spaces and long bathroom ques at Tapah, Simpang Pulai and Sg Perak. The views are also quite spectacular after you pass the Trong Exit on the WCE. Bikes can also use this highway safely, as there are plenty of well constructed stops lined up on the highway

109, 72

If you dont want to travel too far away from the NSE, but you dont want to get stuck along Route 1, which will surely be crowded at places like Tapah, Kampar and Gopeng, you can opt to come to Changkat Jering via route 109 and 72. You can access these routes by exiting the NSE at Slim River and use the road going behind Felda Gunung Besout, and the Ladang bikam road, or enter through Sungkai. The road goes through Kampung Gajah, Lambor Kanan and Bota Kanan. You can join the WCE here too. Or continue to Parit and join Kuala Kangsar via Manong, or head to Changkat Jering via Beruas and Terong.

Central Spine Road

If you are headed northbound to the east coast, then you can use the Central Spine Road from Mempaga exit on the LPT all the way to Raub. However theres a bottleneck at the junction. So we suggest to exit Felda Krau, near the UITM Raub, and use Route 8 and C5 towards Sungai Koyan. You can join back route 8 via the C158 or keep going to Sungai Koyan and using the 235 to cut to Kuala Lipis.

Southbound

LEKAS

The North South Highway gets really crowded immediately after the Sungai besi toll all the way to the Linggi toll. For those travelling to Seremban, its better to take the LEKAS highway, which now can be accessed directly using the EKVE from Taman Kosas in Ampang. Its a straight and clear road all the way to either Setul and Temiang, or all the way to Senawang where you can access Route 51 to Kuala Pilah. Either way you land directly into Seremban town, and can work your way to other southbound options using route 51, 86 or the N5

N7, 5

Another way to avoid the southbound traffic past Nilai and Linggi, is by travelling through Rantau from Seremban. You have two options to do this, either from Seremban town via LEKAS, or via Sendayan from Sepang. From Rantau, the N7 will take you to Linggi, and Lubuk China via route 5 and from there you can get to Masjid Tanah or Tampin.

Conclusion

Ultimately the highway is the shortest distance and the fastest even with slightly heavy traffic. However when the traffic comes to an absolute standstill, things can get really difficult. For one the R&R’s will be at over capacity, lack of parking spaces, not enough seats at the food places, and its actually hazardous to stop on the highway shoulder unless its an emergency.

These B road alternatives though, gives you the freedom to stop in the inbetween towns instead of being confined to one rest stop area, giving you the freedom to move and options to stop. When you know its a rush to get back to our home towns, best to take the scenic routes, and enjoy the views and what Malaysia has to offer on the way home.