Residents of Kampar want an interchange from the North-South Expressway to their town

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KAMPAR was once bustling with trade and tin mining activities prior to the collapse of the country’s tin industry.

And as if that was not enough a cruel blow, it was further reduced to a shadow of its glorious past when the North-South Expressway was completed in 1994.

Literally overnight, travellers and express bus operators, who had frequented the town on their way up north and vice-versa via the trunk road, opted for the more convenient expressway. No thanks, also, to the absence of an exit from the expressway to Kampar.

The nearest exits to the town were further up north in Gopeng and Tapah, in the south, both about a 20km distance away.

Suddenly, there were no more customers at coffee shops and restaurants at the town famous for its chicken biscuit, claypot chicken rice and loh see fun (silver needle noodle).

The subsequent opening of Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman (Ktar) campus in January 1998 and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) main campus in May 2007 were generally thought to be efforts to revive the town.

Fast forward to present day, the introduction of both institutions of higher learning had been rather successful in bringing back life to the town. So much so that it has spawned an entirely new township, called Kampar New Town.

With the ever-growing number of students flocking to Kampar to pursue their studies, it has again got locals, as well as students, thinking of the need for an interchange to be created for the town.

Toll exit: Vehicles coming from the North heading towards Kampar normally exit from the Gopeng toll, some 20km away from the town.

Some students told MetroPerak that Kampar was not the easiest place to find, especially for freshmen who were coming to town for the first time.

Recalling her first visit to Kampar some three years ago, Utar undergraduate Tan Hui Kia said she got lost after exiting the expressway at Tapah.

“I completely lost my bearings.

“Getting to Kampar from Tapah normally takes about 15 minutes but I spent more than 30 minutes that day to find the right direction to Kampar,” said the 22-year-old from Pontian, Johor.

Sharing a similar experience with Tan was Ktar student Lam Leck Bin, 19, who lost his way trying to find Kampar after a tiring five-hour drive from Jelebu, Negri Sembilan, in 2009.

“It was so frustrating. I kept getting lost in some small villages because there weren’t many signboards directing the way to Kampar,” he said.

Electrical shop owner Wong How Ching, 58, found the heavy vehicles plying the trunk road between Gopeng and Kampar a great nuisance.

“They move at such a slow speed that it takes forever for me to reach home after exiting the expressway at Gopeng.

“The single lane along the stretch also makes it dangerous and almost impossible to overtake slow-moving vehicles especially lorries,” he said.

Recommending that Kampar have its own interchange, Wong said it would also help solve the traffic congestion at the interchanges at Simpang Pulai, Gopeng, Tapah and Bidor especially during festive seasons.