M O to Roundabout 1 - early 1980's

In the early 1980's the Public Works Department initiated a dual-carriageway road to connect Bintulu town to its newly opened sub-urban towns ( satellite towns ) especially the Kidurong township and the heavy industrialised zone of Kidurong, some 24 kilometers away from the Bintulu town . The funds were available through Federal funding. The start of the Federal road from Bintulu town was popularly called M O ( Mile zero). This view above shows the road from M O leading out of town towards the first roundabout which is today turned into a traffic lights junction. On the left of the picture is shown white railings that are placed on both sides of the wooden bridge that lead to the small Bintulu hospital then. In the picture a car takes a turn at the road junction to enter the Bintulu hospital area. On the right, the BDA-Shahida commercial center is under construction. In the early years of 1980's the local authority have just started to implement roadside planting. The above shows a brave attempt despite the lack of planting materials. But what was evident was the spirit of cooperation and togetherness between government departments there. The local authority proceeded to undertake the roadside tree planting using its own funds and this also covered its maintenance. The spirit was to make Bintulu a welcoming and beautiful town and it did not matter whether the PWD got the funds or not. The local authority was willing to chip in.

... approximately 20 years later ( date taken 25 Nov'10)

Today , roadside trees adorn the dual-carriageway to provide much needed shade and beautification to the town roads. On the left are Rain trees (Samanea saman ) and on the right are the Cabbage trees or sometimes called the Brown heart (Andira inermis ) . The narrow central median is planted with bright yellow Dwarf Pandanus ( Pandanus pygmaeus) as cover plants and sculptured shrubs of the Eugenia oleina interspersed with bright red foliage of the Red Ti ( Coryline terminalis ). The central median planting is topped with the Majestic Palm ( Archontophoenix alexandrae). The white railings are still there but the former hospital has been moved out of town to Nyabau Road, a distance of about 10 kilometers from Bintulu town. Soon this road will be joined by another road ( under construction) from St.Anthony's School to meet at Somerville Road thus providing another short-cut to town. The above picture shows clearly how Bintulu stands apart from other towns in Sarawak because of its early emphasis on town beautification programmes especially roadside landscaping.