The bridge Marang never asked for

Marang is the parliamentary constituency of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang. It is also the one district that should showcase the party's promise of clean, efficient and people-centred governance, after nearly 10 years of PAS rule in Terengganu under Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar.Instead, visitors arriving in Marang are greeted by years of construction, traffic congestion, dusty roads and frustrated local residents asking a simple question: was all this really necessary?One of the biggest infrastructure projects currently under way is the construction of a new bridge across Sungai Marang along Federal Route 3, the old single-lane road linking the East Coast from Johor to Kota Bharu.Together with extensive road widening works and elevated approaches on both sides of the river, the project has been under construction for almost four years. Judging by the pace of work, it does not appear likely to be completed anytime soon.Large infrastructure projects inevitably cause inconvenience.

But what they expect in return is a project that is properly planned, completed within a reasonable timeframe and capable of delivering clear long-term benefits.Increasingly, many residents in Marang are questioning whether this project meets those expectations.During my visit to Marang town and the jetty, where tourists board boats for river cruises and trips to Pulau Kapas, I spoke to numerous residents, boat operators and business owners. Although they came from different backgrounds, their frustrations were remarkably similar.The elevated roads leading to the high bridge across Marang River, which nobody asked for.No more roadside stallsConstruction has turned what was once a peaceful coastal town into an extended worksite. Roads have been narrowed by construction barriers, access routes have been closed for piling works, and traffic that once flowed smoothly now crawls through bottlenecks every day.Business owners told me customers have become reluctant to visit because getting in and out of Marang has become unnecessarily difficult.Dust from the construction has become a daily nuisance, while the prolonged disruption has affected livelihoods for years rather than months.Hardly any roadside stalls remain that used to sell Terengganu delicacies such as nasi dagang, kerepok lekor or akok.

The whole street is just too dusty.Yet it was not the inconvenience th…