Menora Tunnel Incident - Should It Be Closed Or Restricted To Heavy Vehicles?

Should the Menora Tunnel in Perak be closed or restricted to heavy vehicles?

Regardless, the two steps are seen as thoughtful, given that there are only casualties on this hot route every year.

According to Ministry of Transportation data:

During 2018, a total of 564 road accidents were recorded in the tunnel, with 7 of the 564 accidents resulting in 11 fatalities.

The most recent incident involve five Sultan Azlan Shah University (USAS) students, with all of them were pronounced dead.

Immediately following the tragic incident, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad stated that his party had long supported the proposal to build a shortcut from Gopeng to Kuala Kangsar without using the Menora Tunnel on the North-South Expressway (PLUS).

Shortcut Info:

Along 64 kilometers

Take the Gopeng exit to Siputeh and connect to Kuala Kangsar.

This route is quite long compared to the Menora which is only 30km away

“A new highway will be built to connect Gopeng to Kuala Kangsar as an alternative route without going through the Menora Tunnel.

We hope that is one of the ways how the state government tries to avoid accidents there, ”he said.

However, the opinion of the Chairman of the Perak Road Transport Users Association, Mustafar Rahadi, is different.

He urged the government to impose a ban on heavy vehicles from using the tunnel.

“The hilly and steep route in the tunnel is very dangerous for heavy vehicles. The ban is seen as appropriate as most accidents occur due to technical problems such as brakes not working, the load is too heavy, "he said.

Here’s some info about the Menorah Tunnel:

Along 880 meters and 830 meters

The Menorah Tunnel was inaugurated on September 24, 1987

The highway project cost RM360 million

Has been in operation for 35 years

Shorten the journey from north to south by 30km

Formerly named Meru Tunnel (northbound) & Menora Tunnel (southbound)

Yet both are called the Menorah Tunnel.

Because the cut corners of the entrance, exit, and bend are different, the two tunnels are not the same length.

Very steep, sharp bends

Knows as the Death Row

variety of mystical stories

Regardless, be careful when going through this Menorah Tunnel. Reduce speed and most importantly always test the vehicle brakes, avoid overtaking and accelerating.