The Federal Traffic Investigation and Enforcement said over 1.5 million vehicles were recorded plying three major highways last weekend as holidaymakers returned to the city from their hometowns after the Deepavali holidays.

It has been a long time since this phenomenon has taken place owing to the closure of interstate travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The department recorded 1.27 million vehicles along the North-South Expressway (NSE), 183,087 vehicles along the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway and 68,088 vehicles along the East Coast Expressway Phase One.

Checks also showed increased traffic at various toll plazas. Along the NSE, the Jalan Duta toll plaza showed an 11.98 percent increase with 64,439 vehicles compared to 57,544 while Sungai Besi toll plaza showed a 1.79 percent increase with 41,655 vehicles on Saturday compared to 40,924 on Oct. 18.

The Skudai toll plaza recorded a 37.53 percent increase with 28,859 vehicles compared to 20,984 vehicles while the Juru toll plaza recorded a 16.87 percent increase with 47,894 vehicles compared to 40,980 vehicles.

The department also said along the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway, a 57.61 percent traffic increase was observed at the Gombak toll plaza with 110,820 vehicles compared to 70,312 vehicles.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE