Roundabout 3 Before, Major Traffic Lights Junction Now

In 1990, Bintulu had its biggest roundabout at KM 5, Bintulu- Miri Road. The Roundabout was plainly called Roundabout 3. At a corner of the roundabout was located JKR's temporary stock pile area for road and infrastructure construction materials.  An indoor badminton stadium was also built at one end of the state land on which the two facilities were built.

Looking at the place today, the changes is beyond recognition.  That site has been taken up by commercial buildings development undertaken by the private sector.

As at the point of writing the commercial shophouses are ready for occupation.  

As Bintulu moved into its Millenial Growth Era ( i.e. after its last fourth boom) and starting in 2016, the town remains the brightest star in its capacity as Sarawak's prime example of rapid physical development,  socio-economic progress, urban population growth and proper town planning.

Date taken : September, 2021.

 

Date taken : August, 1990.

Jalan Sultan Iskandar 30 years later

From aerial photo to satellite image - Roundabout 1 - 3

For more story about the development of Bintulu's first major roundabouts i.e. Roundabout One to Three (R1-R3) please go to my posting in another blog here

Roundabout 3 in 1990

Roundabout 3 - view looking towards Bintulu- Miri Road
Location : The R 3 is located 3 miles ( 5 km)  from Bintulu town centre
Date taken : 14 August,1990

 In 1990 there were four roundabouts in Bintulu.  The picture above shows the Roundabout 3, located at Km 5, Bintulu- Miri Road.  It was the biggest roundabout in Bintulu in the 1990's.  Over time all the four roundabouts were replaced with traffic lights junctions.  The building on top of the hill to the right is located within the Bintulu Police Divisional complex.  The yellow cover at the foreground are the yellow variety leaves of the Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) which was a popular ground cover for landscaping in the 1990's.  In the 1990's the landscaping and beautification of Bintulu were a cooperative effort involving three major agencies..i.e. the JKR (Public Works), SESCO and BDA. 

Traffic Lights junction replaced the roundabout
Picture taken : 28 January, 2014.

Aerial view of Roundabout 3 showing the landscaping works at the roundabout and traffic islands surrounding it.
Date taken : circa 1990
Note the striking yellow colours of the Sweet potato cover plant at the traffic islands surrounding the roundabout.
The roadside planting and roundabouts landscaping during this time were  mainly advised by Arthur George Alphonso, Bintulu's first horticultural consultant....go here to see some other projects George was involved in Bintulu ..>>http://mybintuluhistory.blogspot.com/2007/09/bintulus-first-horticultural-consultant.html

Roundabout Two in mid 1980's

The above roundabout was called Roundabout Two in the 1980's
It was well-landscaped and turfed. The stretch of roadside trees  are Angsana (Pterocarpus indicus)

 In the above picture the white building at the top left corner is the "Dewan Suarah"or civic centre.  The Dewan Suarah was built at the cost of RM 7 million and was opened on 5 July, 1988.

Date taken : 27 September,2013.
In place of the Roundabout Two, the local authority (BDA) introduced the traffic lights junction and was fully operational in early 2012.

When the local authority introduced a traffic lights junction to replace the roundabout, a new dual carriageway was built as alternative route to the Bintulu town ( as seen at the bottom left of the picture).