It may have taken five months but the authorities have finally admitted it - huge cracks found on several houses Taman Sri Petaling was due to the construction of the Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya highway.

After two months of investigations, an independent body commissioned by Dewan Bandaraya Kaula Lumpur (DBKL) to study the construction site concluded that construction work had caused the cracks, some of which were two-inch wide.

As a remedy, DBKL has offered to rebuild four severely damaged houses and to patch up all the cracks on more than 100 other affected houses.

A committee will soon be set up by DBKL to check each house and upon agreement by the house owners, remedial works will soon begin.

The cost of the repairs would be borne by the highway concessionaire, according to DBKL.

Taman Sri Petaling Residents Association representative Lau Kien Foh said that the residents have agreed to work with DBKL to resolve the matter, but they are still opposed to the construction of the elevated highway next to their homes.

"We are neither happy or unhappy (with the DBKL's offer) because we simply have no choice," said Lau when contacted.

Lau added that at present, the residents are living in fear and that it was only fair that the authorities bore the cost of repairing their houses.

Legal action mulled

Despite the recent turn of events, the residents are not breathing easy. They plan to take up the matter with higher authorities and even take legal action against the relevant authorities.

They argue that the elevated highway not only compromises their safety but it also contravenes the Highway Authorities (LLM) and Works Department (JKR) guidelines.

"But for now, we need to resolve the issue of cracks on our houses first," added Lau.

The 26km KL-Putrajaya highway stretches from Kampung Pandan roundabout in Kuala Lumpur to the new administrative capital of Putrajaya.

A portion of the highway cuts through Jalan 2/149 in the new township of Bandar Sri Petaling. The four-lane road is sandwiched between two rows of houses on opposite sides.

The highway concession was inked in October 1997. However, the project snagged due the economic downturn.

In 2004, the project was revived, but the Taman Sri Petaling residential area was already completed by then.

DBKL, which had earlier approved the highway project, gave the green light to the housing development after it thought that the highway had been scrapped.