The new 4-lane flyover across the former Dato’ Abu Bakar roundabout has just been opened to traffic some 2 weeks ago. The roundabout is no longer exists, it has been replaced with traffic lights intersection under the flyover. Traffic at this intersection has improved a lot.

However, much more actions are needed for the entire stretch of Jalan Universiti from the Rothmans roundabout to the interchange at Federal Highway Route 2. Traffic heading towards the Federal Highway is still very much congested due to the traffic lights into Universiti Malaya (UM), Section 11 and Universiti Malaya Medical Center (UMMC). The situation is made worst by irresponsible drivers who park beside the road outside UMMC instead of the parking facilities available in the hospital.

One way to solve the problem is to build more flyovers across these junctions, however that may be costly. Alternatively, there should be no right turn along this stretch, but to be replaced with dedicated U-turn lanes at strategic locations along the road, allowing traffic to turn in and out of UM, UMMC and Section 11.

At the other end, the Rothmans roundabout connecting Jalan Universiti, Jalan Semangat, Jalan Harapan and Jalan 19/1, traffic can be very bad during peak hours, especially on Tuesday evenings due to the pasar malam in Section 17. There has been plan to build a flyover connecting Jalan Semangat to Jalan Harapan, but, as long as Jalan Harapan remains a short stretch till Jalan 17/21B, there is no point building the flyover. The city council should build the 20-year-delayed Jalan Harapan project while at the same time build the proposed flyover to better disperse traffic around this area, given that new residential and commercial developments are coming up in Section 19, adjacent to Section SS2.