Malaysian Expressway SystemFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Malaysian expressway logo

The Malaysian Expressway System (Malay: Sistem Lebuhraya Malaysia), which begins with the North-

South Expressway (NSE), is currently in the process of being substantially developed. It was built by

private companies under the supervision of the government highway authority, Malaysian Highway

Authority (abbreviated as MHA; also referred to as Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia (LLM) in Malay).

Contents

 [hide]

1 Overview

o 1.1 AH2 border crossing dispute

2 History

o 2.1 Interstate

o 2.2 Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley

o 2.3 Johor Bahru

o 2.4 Penang

o 2.5 East Malaysia

3 Expressway standards

o 3.1 Expressways/Highways route number categories

3.1.1 Expressway route numbers

3.1.2 Federal route numbers

4 Expressway monitoring and maintenance

o 4.1 Monitoring

o 4.2 Maintenance

o 4.3 Traffic management

5 Advertising services in expressways

6 Toll system

o 6.1 Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF)

o 6.2 Toll rebate

o 6.3 Malaysian expressway toll rate classes

6.3.1 Toll rate classes for every expressway in Malaysia

6.3.2 Toll rate classes for Penang Bridge

6.3.3 Toll rate classes for SMART Tunnel

7 Facilities on Malaysian expressways

8 Types of expressway interchanges in Malaysia

9 Safety

o 9.1 Speed limits

o 9.2 Types of vehicles not allowed to enter an expressway

9.2.1 PLUS expressway networks and East Coast Expressway (ECE)

9.2.2 Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH)

9.2.3 Maju Expressway (MEX) (Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya Expressway (KLPE))

9.2.4 SMART Tunnel

o 9.3 Accidents

9.3.1 List of accident-prone areas in Malaysian tolled expressways and highways

o 9.4 During festive seasons

o 9.5 Natural hazards

9.5.1 List of landslide-prone areas

9.5.2 List of crosswind-prone areas

9.5.3 List of flash flood-prone areas

10 Controversial issues

11 Interesting facts

12 List of expressways and highways in Malaysia

13 Malaysian expressways in popular culture

o 13.1 Films

o 13.2 Televisions

13.2.1 Dramas

13.2.2 Documentary

o 13.3 Video games

14 Gallery

15 See also

16 References

17 External links

[edit]Overview

Map of major expressway routes in Peninsular Malaysia.

The expressway network of Malaysia is considered the best expressway network in Southeast Asia and

also in Asia after Japan and China.[1] They were 27 highways in the country and the total length is

1,630 kilometres (1012.8 miles).[1] and another 219.3 kilometres (136.3miles) is still under construction. The

closed toll expressway system is similar to the Japanese Expressway System and Chinese Expressway

System. All Malaysian toll expressways are managed in the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) system.

Malaysian expressways exist in both West Malaysia and East Malaysia, however, the former are better-

connected.[2] The North-South Expressway passes through all the major cities and conurbations in West

Malaysia, such as Penang, Ipoh, the Klang Valley  and Johor Bahru. The Pan Borneo Highway connects

the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak with Brunei.

A few major expressways in Malaysia are part of the larger Asian Highway Network. The Asian Highway

Network is an international project between Asian nations to develop their highway systems, which will form

main routes in the network. There are three Asian Highway routes passing through Malaysia - Asian

Highway Route 2 AH2, Asian Highway Route 18 AH18 and Asian Highway Route 150 AH150 in East

Malaysia.[3] The Malaysian section of Route AH2 consists of the North-South Expressway, the North-South

Expressway Central Link, the Second Link Expressway, the Skudai Highway  and the Johor-Singapore

Causeway.[4]

[edit]AH2 border crossing dispute

The status of the route alignment of the Asian Highway AH2 crossing the Malaysia-Singapore border is

currently being disputed. Malaysia had commissioned the Second Link Expressway   as part of AH2 to

maintain the primary access-controlled highway status of the route.[4] Meanwhile, Singapore had

commissioned the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Bukit Timah Expressway as part of AH2, as the

Johor-Singapore Causeway is the main gateway to Singapore from Malaysia,[5] which could mean that

the Skudai Highway  would be included in the route alignment instead of the Second Link Expressway.

[edit]History

Further information: Chronology of Malaysian Expressway System events

[edit]Interstate

South section of NSE near Pedas-Linggi, Negeri Sembilan , facing towards Kuala Lumpur. (Before upgrading into six-

lane carriageway from 1 July 2005 until 1 July 2007) withTitiwangsa Mountains in the top peak

The East Coast Expressway towards Titiwangsa Range ,Pahang.

Before tolled expressways were introduced in the mid 1970s, most Malaysians traveled around Peninsula

Malaysia on federal roads.

The major reasons for building new expressways in Malaysia are the increasing number of vehicles along

federal routes, the opening of major ports and airports in Malaysia, and the increasing population in major

cities and towns of Malaysia.

The first tolled highway in Malaysia was the Tanjung Malim-Slim River tolled road  (Federal Route  )

which was opened to traffic on 16 March 1966. However, in 1994, with the completion of the North-South

Expressway, the toll plaza is removed and it became a toll-free highway.

The Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway (Federal Route  ) was built between 1976 and 1979. Meanwhile the

900 m (-- ft) Genting Sempah Tunnel was the first highway tunnel in Malaysia, constructed between 1977

and 1979. The tunnel was officially opened in 1979 by the then Minister of Works and Communications,

Dato' Abdul Ghani Gilong.

The first section of the North-South Expressway was the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban Expressway, which was

opened in 1981. The next sections of the North-South Expressway were the Ipoh-Changkat Jering and

Seremban-Ayer Keroh stretches, which were opened to traffic in 1986. However, on 1 October 1987 the

closed-toll system came into force along the Kuala Lumpur-Ayer Keroh and Ipoh-Changkat Jering

stretches. The Ayer Keroh-Pagoh stretch on the North-South Expressway was opened to traffic in 1988. All

sections of the North-South Expressway were completed and officially opened on 8 September 1994 by the

former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad .

Other interstate expressway projects in Malaysia are North-South Expressway Central Link (opened

1996), East Coast Expressway (opened 1997) and Kajang-Seremban Highway  (opened 2008).

[edit]Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley

The Damansara Link section of Klang Valley's Sprint Expressway near Semantan.

The SMART Tunnel, during a test on 29 January 2007.

The history of the highways in the Klang Valley started after the separation of Singapore from Malaysia on

9 August 1965, when the Malaysian government decided to make Port Swettenham (now Port Klang)

Malaysia's new national port as a replacement for Singapore. As a result, the government planned to build

a first highway in Klang Valley known as Federal Highway connecting Port Klang to Kuala Lumpur in the

1960s.

In the early 1990s the federal government decided to build more expressways and highways in Klang

Valley because of the increasing size and population of the Klang Valley conurbation, development of new

townships and industrial estates, and the massive traffic jams along Federal Highway.

The New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), which was opened in 1990, is the second link to Kuala Lumpur

from Klang after Federal Highway. In 1997, North-South Expressway Central Link (NSECL), which is the

main link to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) was opened to traffic.

Other expressway projects in Klang Valley are Shah Alam Expressway (SAE/KESAS) (opened

1997), Damansara-Puchong Expressway  (LDP) (opened 1999), Sprint Expressway (opened 2001), New

Pantai Expressway (NPE) (opened 2004), SMART Tunnel (opened 2007), KL-KLIA Dedicated

Expressway or Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya Expressway (KLPE) (now Maju Expressway  (MEX)) (opened

2007) and Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway (DUKE) (opened 2009).

In addition to Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road (KLIRR) as the inner ring road in Kuala Lumpur, Kuala

Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1 (KLMRR1), Kuala Lumpur Western/Northern Dispersal Link Scheme (Sprint

Expressway and Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway (DUKE)) and Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2 (KLMRR2)

also act as middle ring roads of the city. Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor Expressway (KLS) (formerly Assam

Jawa-Templer Park Highway (LATAR)), Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway  (SILK), South Klang Valley

Expressway (SKVE) and the planningKuala Lumpur Outer Ring Road (KLORR) may form the outer ring

roads of Kuala Lumpur.

Following the formation of the Greater Kuala Lumpur in the early 2010s, there are many expressways and

highways will be built in the Greater Kuala Lumpur under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

These are the Guthrie-Damansara Expressway (New North Klang Valley Expressway), Pandan-Cheras-

Ampang Expressway  (Besraya Extension Expressway  or Shamelin Expressway ) and Paroi -Senawang-

KLIA Expressway.

[edit]Johor Bahru

The Johor-Singapore Causeway serves as the primary connection of Johor with the city-state of Singapore. Johor

Bahru, the capital city of Johor, is visible in the background

The Malaysia-Singapore Second Crossing serves as the secondary connection of Johor with the city-state ofSingapore.

The Sungai Johor Bridge on the Senai-Desaru Expressway , Johor, the longest river bridge inMalaysia.

The history of highways in Johor Bahru started in the 1980s when the city of Johor Bahru became a main

southern international gateway to Malaysia from Singapore after the separation of Singapore from Malaysia

on 9 August 1965.

The main reasons for building expressways in Johor Bahru are the increasing size of the Johor Bahru

metropolitan area since it achieved city status on 1 January 1994, and the formation of the South Johor

Economic Region (SJER) or Iskandar Development Region (IDR) (now Iskandar Malaysia ) on 30 July

2006. Many townships have been constructed around Johor Bahru and industrial estates have been

developed in areas such as Senai, Skudai, Tebrau, Pasir Gudang  and Tampoi.

The first highway in Johor Bahru was Skudai Highway  linking Senai to Johor Causeway, which was

completed in 1985 and it was the first toll highway in Johor Bahru. However the toll plaza near Senai was

abolished in 2004. Kempas Highway , the only state road in Malaysia constructed as a 2-lane highway was

completed in 1994. The Malaysia-Singapore Second Crossing, which is the second link to Singapore after

Johor Causeway, was opened to traffic on 18 April 1998.

Other expressway projects in Johor Bahru are Senai-Desaru Expressway  (SDE) linking Senai in the west

to Desaru in east coast of Johor, theJB Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) which linking Pandan interchange of

the North-South Expressway to the new Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Checkpoint

in city centre, the Iskandar Coastal Highway  linking Nusajaya in the west to the city centre in the east and

the Johor Bahru East Coast Highway linking Kampung Bakar Batu passing through Permas Jaya , Taman

Rinting and finally towards Pasir Gudang .

In addition to Johor Bahru Inner Ring Road (JBIRR) as the inner ring road in Johor Bahru, Pasir Gudang

Highway, Second Link Expressway andJohor Bahru Parkway also act as middle ring roads of the

city. Second Link Expressway and the Senai-Desaru Expressway  may form the outer ring roads of Johor

Bahru.

[edit]Penang

The Penang Bridge was the first expressway in Penang.

The history of highways in Penang started in the 1970s when the federal government decided to build

the Penang Bridge, connecting Seberang Perai  to Penang Island. The construction of Penang Bridge

began in 1982 and was completed in 1985. This bridge was officially opened on 14 September 1985 by

then Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad .

The main reasons for constructing new expressways in Penang are the increasing population of George

Town and Butterworth since the Penang Bridge was opened. Many townships have been built in Penang

and new industrial estates have sprung up in areas such as Perai and Bayan Lepas .

Other expressway projects in Penang are Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE), Butterworth Outer Ring

Road (BORR), Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR), Jelutong Expressway  (JEWAY) (now Tun Dr Lim Chong

Eu Expressway), Sungai Juru Expressway and Penang Second Bridge.

A proposal for a second bridge, the Penang Second Bridge, has been approved by the government and

included as one of the Ninth Malaysia Plan national projects. According to official news, construction work

of the new Penang Second Bridge started on Nov 2007, and was targeted for completion before the end of

the year 2010.

[edit]East Malaysia

Main article: Pan Borneo Highway

Tun Salahuddin Bridge, the only tolled expressway in East Malaysia. In the background is Kuching City Centre

The history of highways in East Malaysia started in the 1960s when the federal government decided to

build the Pan Borneo Highway, linking Sarawak and Sabah state.

The Pan Borneo Highway project is a joint project between the governments of Brunei and Malaysia. The

project started as soon as Sarawak and Sabah joined the federation of Malaysia in 1963. The lack of a

road network system in Sarawak was the main factor of the construction.

There is one toll expressway and one toll federal highway in Sarawak - the Tun Salahuddin

Bridge in Kuching city and Miri-Baram Highway  inMiri Division. The Tun Salahuddin Bridge is the first and

currently the only toll expressway in East Malaysia.

[edit]Expressway standards

Malaysian expressway code logo

Malaysian expressway exit signs

The construction, standards, management and usage of expressways in Malaysia are subject to Federal

Roads Act (Private Management) 1984. In Malaysia, expressways are defined as high-speed routes with at

least four lanes (two in each direction) and should have full access control or partial access control. Most

expressways in Malaysia are controlled-access expressways.

Expressways are defined as high-speed highways built under the JKR R6 rural highway standard, as dual-

carriageways of at least 4 lanes (2 lanes per carriageway) with full access control, grade-separated

interchanges and high design speed limit of 120 km/h, allowing the maximum speed limit of 110 km/h.

[6] However, the section between Cahaya Baru and Penawar of the Senai-Desaru Expressway    is built

as a two-lane single carriageway with the similar features as the Swiss autostrasse, making it as the first

true two-lane controlled-access expressway in Malaysia.[7] All expressways are considered as federal

highways, but administered by Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) and the respective concessionaire

companies.

Highways, on the other hand, complement the national network of expressways and federal roads and built

under the JKR R5 rural highway standard, with relatively high design speed limit (although not as high as

the expressway speed limit) of 100 km/h, allowing the maximum speed limit of 90 km/h.[6]The highways are

built with partial access control, and grade-spearated interchanges and at-grade crossings are both

permitted. However, it is possible for a federal or state highway to be built with almost equivalent standard

of an expressway with the exception of lower speed limit, for example theFederal Highway. Highways can

be built either as dual-carriageway or 2-lane single carriageway.

Before the mid-1990s, there were no specific coding system for the expressways. When more and more

expressways were built, a system of expressway numbering was applied to all expressways. Expressways

are labelled with the letter E followed by assigned numbers, for example the code for North-South

Expressway southern route is  . The expressways have green signs and the text colour is white.

However, there are some exceptions in some highways. Some highways like Federal Highway (Federal

Route  ) and Skudai Highway  (Federal Route ) retain their federal route codes. In addition, there

are some highways in Malaysia which are classified as municipal roads such as Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring

Road 1.

The syntax for highway exits in Malaysia is in the format EXIT   xxnn  or EXIT xxnn, where xx is the

expressway code number (which can be one or two digits) and nn is the two-digit assigned number for

each highway exit. For example, Johor Bahru exit at the end of North-South Expressway is

labelled EXIT   257 , where the last two digits (57) are the assigned exit number and the first digit (2) is the

expressway route number (E2). Meanwhile,Jalan Templer exit at the Federal Highway is labelled EXIT 224,

where the two digits (24) are the assigned exit number and the first digit (2) is the federal route number

(2), . Expressways have distance markers in green colour (blue for federal expressways and highways)

placed every 100 m.

[edit]Expressways/Highways route number categories

[edit]Expressway route numbers

Examples Information Number digits

Expressway route numbers

E01 - E99

EXIT   253 EXIT   1108

Expressway exit numbersEXIT 201 - EXIT 299EXIT 1100 - 1199

[edit]Federal route numbers

Examples Information Number digits

Main federal route numbers 001 - 999

EXIT 226 Federal road exit numbers EXIT 201 - EXIT 299

For more information, please refer to Road signs in Malaysia

Most expressways are paved with typical tarmac, which is a mixture of fine stone chips and tar;

however, some expressways are paved withconcrete such as North-South Expressway Northern

Route (from Bukit Lanjan Interchange, Selangor to Tapah interchange, Perak), New Klang Valley

Expressway, North-South Expressway Southern Route (from Ayer

Keroh interchange, Melaka to Tangkak interchange, Johor), SMART Tunnel and Skudai-Pontian

Highway (from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia  interchange to Taman Sri Pulai junction). Meanwhile

at Federal Highway linking Klang to Kuala Lumpur, the section of the expressway from Subang

Jaya to Kota Darul Ehsan near Petaling Jaya  is paved with asphalt.

PLUSLINE1800-88-0000

Malaysian expressway code logo with highway concessionaries logo and SOS hotline

[edit]Expressway monitoring and maintenance

[edit]Monitoring

Since 1986, Malaysian expressways have been built by private companies under the supervision of

the government highway authority, Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia  (Malaysian Highway Authority).

Every private concession company, such as PLUS Expressways, MTD Prime and the others have

monitored and maintained their expressways.

[edit]Maintenance

Projek Penyelenggaraan Lebuhraya Berhad or PROPEL has undertaken repair and maintenance

works on highway facilities, such as road works and repair works, road line painting, cleaning works on

laybys and rest and service areas, trimming grass and landscaping along expressway areas, installing

road furniture, and others. Meanwhile the Propel Response Team Unit is a special response team

unit.

The Karak Expressway  and East Coast Expressway are maintained by Alloy Consolidated Sdn Bhd.

[edit]Traffic management

Since late 2006, every expressway in Malaysia has been monitored by the Malaysian Highway

Authority (LLM) Traffic Management Centre (LLM TMC). However, in some parts of Klang Valley , the

expressways are monitored by the Integrated Transport Information System (ITIS); expressways

in Johor Bahru are monitored by Johor Bahru City Council (Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru) (MBJB)

and those in George Town, Penang are monitored by Penang Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran

Pulau Pinang) (MPPP).

Malaysian Highway Authority traffic information page

[edit]Advertising services in expressways

Big Tree Outdoors  - PLUS Expressways networks

Nilam Simfoni  - East Coast Expressway networks

[edit]Toll system

Every expressway and highway in Malaysia has a toll system, which is either a closed toll system

or open toll system.

Open system - Users only have to pay at certain toll plazas within the open system range for

a fixed amount.

Closed system - Users collect toll tickets (North South Expressway issues the transit

ticket and the East Coast Expressway issues the transit card) before entering the

expressway at respective toll plazas and pay an amount of toll at the exit toll plaza plus the

distance from the plaza to the Limit of Maintenance Responsibility (LMR). The toll rate in this

system is based on the distance traveled.

The electronic toll collection systems, Touch 'n Go and Smart TAG, have been made compulsory

in all expressways since 1 July 2004, following the instruction of the Works Minister, Datuk Seri S

Samy Vellu. Other electronic payment systems that were previously used by other highway

operators, like FasTrak for all Gamuda Expressway Networks  and SagaTag in Cheras - Kajang

Expressway, were abolished in a move to standardise the electronic payment method.

[edit]Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF)

The Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) is an electronic toll collection system that allows free flow high

speed tolli system highway for all its users. With MLFF, the current toll lanes at toll plazas will be

replaced with readers at gantry across the highway to detect vehicle and deduct toll using the

existing Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) when fully implemented. The Malaysian Highway

Authority (MHA) is planning to implement MLFF system at all highways in stages starting 2010.

[edit]Toll rebate

Beginning 1 September 2009, the 20 per cent rebate given to motorists who pay toll charges more

than 80 times a month, can be saved for up to six months. The rebate can be redeemed at 126

locations which would be announced in due time.

[edit]Malaysian expressway toll rate classes

The Malaysian toll rates can be considered among the cheapest in the world, says former Works

Minister, Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu.[8]

There are fixed toll rate classes for every Malaysian expressway except for the Penang

Bridge and SMART Tunnel where toll rates are not the same.

Sungai Besi Toll Plaza on North-South Expressway in Kuala Lumpur

[edit]Toll rate classes for every expressway in Malaysia

Class Type of vehicles Payment Notes

0Motorcycles, bicycles or vehicles with 2 or less wheels

FreeExcept Tanjung Kupang toll plaza on the Malaysia-Singapore Second LinkTnG

1Vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels excluding taxis

RM (Cash) TnG TAG

2Vehicles with 2 axles and 5 or 6 wheels excluding buses

RM (Cash) TnG TAG

3 Vehicles with 3 or more axles RM (Cash)Cash only (Express Card for Shah Alam Expressway only)

4 Taxis RM (Cash) Cash only, paid by passengers only.

5 Buses RM (Cash) Cash only

Malaysian expressway toll rate list signboard

Malaysian expressways toll plaza with Smart TAG and Touch 'n Go lanes

PLUS Expressways transit ticket

Malaysian expressway toll receipt

[edit]Toll rate classes for Penang Bridge

Class Type of vehicles Payment Notes

1Motorcycles, bicycles or vehicles with 2 or less wheels

RM (Cash) TnG

2Motorcycle with sidecars, cars including station wagon and commercial vehicles on three wheels

RM (Cash) TnG TAG

For taxis, toll charges are paid by passengers only.

3Lorries, vans and buses with two axles and four wheels

RM (Cash) TnG TAG

4Lorries, vans and buses with two axles and five and six wheels

RM (Cash) Cash only

5 Vehicles with three axles RM (Cash) Cash only

6 Vehicles with four axles RM (Cash) Cash only

7 Vehicles with five or more axles RM (Cash) Cash only

[edit]Toll rate classes for SMART Tunnel

Class

Type of vehicles Payment Notes

1 Private car RM (Cash) TnG TAG

4 Taxis RM (Cash) Toll charges are paid by passengers only.

The Sungai Perak Rest and Service Area, Perak of theNorth-South Expressway Northern Route.

[edit]Facilities on Malaysian expressways

There are several facilities provided along Malaysian expressway as follows:-

Rest and Service Area  (R&R) - Rest and service areas (RSA) are located roughly about

every 60 km along interstate expressways such as the North-South Expressway and the East

Coast Expressway. However, some urban expressways may also provide RSA, such as

the Shah Alam Expressway, theDamansara-Puchong Expressway and the Guthrie Corridor

Expressway. A typical RSA may have a food court, fruit stall, craft shop, public toilets and

baths, public telephones, huts (wakaf), petrol stations and prayer rooms (surau) for Muslims.

Some RSAs may have ATMs, motels like "Highway Inn",convenience shops such as Highway

Mart and 7-Eleven, fast food restaurants and a food court. The wireless

broadband internet facility is now available in RSAs; the Tapah RSA in Perak was the first

RSA on a Malaysian expressway to provide wireless broadband internet facilities.

Layby  (P) - Laybys are basic parking lots beside the expressways that may also have public

toilets and baths, fruit stall, huts (wakaf) and public telephones. However, some laybys may

have a few food stalls and petrol stations. Usually, there are about two laybys in between

every two RSAs.

Overhead restaurants  (R&R) - Overhead restaurants are special RSAs with restaurants

above the expressway. Unlike typical laybys and RSAs which are only accessible in one-way

direction only, an overhead restaurant is accessible from both directions of the expressway.

Currently, there are 3 overhead bridges in Malaysia - Sungai Buloh (North-South Expressway

Northern Route), Ayer Keroh (North-South Expressway Southern Route) and USJ (North-

South Expressway Central Link). The PLUS Art Gallery is located in Ayer Keroh Overhead

Bridge Restaurant.

Customer Service Centre  (CSC) - Every toll plaza in Malaysia has a customer service centre.

This centre includes highway maps, toll fare lists, information counters, Touch 'n Go card

reload counters, Touch 'n Go and Smart TAG sales counters and many more.

Touch ‘n Go Drive-Through Purchase and Refill card lane (POS)  (TnG POS ) - Touch 'n

Go card users can refill existing or purchase new Touch 'n Go cards directly from the lane

without the hassle of going to customer service centres. This Touch 'n Go POS lane are

available at all expressways on the PLUS Expressway network.

Vista point  (V) - Vista points are special parking areas that allow motorists to see scenic

views of the expressway; available only at Senawang (both directions) and Ipoh (northbound

only).

Motorcycle shelter  - Motorcycle shelters provide protection and shelter for motorcyclists from

heavy rain. Usually, most motorcycle shelters are located below overhead bridges, but some

may be special booths.

Motorcycle lane  - In some parts of the whole expressway, there is an additional lane

designated for motorcycles. These lanes are usually about half the width of a normal lane on

the North-South expressway and are positioned on the extreme left side of the main

carriageway in each direction of travel. These special lanes are found in Shah Alam

Expressway, Butterworth-Kulim Expressway, Federal Highway andGuthrie Corridor

Expressway

Emergency phones  - Emergency phones are located every 2 km along interstate

expressways; useful if there are breakdowns on the expressway. Attendants from the nearest

toll plaza will tow the broken cars to the nearest workshops.

Tunnel emergency exits  (Ventilation/ escape shafts) - Tunnel emergency exits are located

every 1 km along expressway tunnels, such asSMART Tunnel, Penchala Tunnel  on Sprint

Expressway, Menora Tunnel  on North-South Expressway and Genting Sempah

Tunnel on Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway.

Highway hotline service  - Every expressway has a hotline service.

Highway patrol unit  - Every expressway has a highway patrol unit.

Highway helicopter patrol unit  - This unit is available at all PLUS Expressway networks only.

Integrated Transport Information System  - The Integrated Transport Information System

comprises a number of traffic monitoring systems such as Traffic CCTV, Variable Message

Systems (VMS) and Vehicles Breakdown Sensors. This system is normally found in

the Klang Valley  and Johor Bahru.

Road Transport Department (JPJ) Enforcement Stations  - These stations can be found

at Karak Expressway  and East Coast Expressway. These JPJ enforcement stations

have weighing bridges to detect heavy vehicles.

Police Watch Tower  - These towers can be found at all interstate expressways in Malaysia to

monitor traffic situations during festive seasons.

Warning lights  - These yellow lights can be found in hazardous and accident areas.

Automated Enforcement System  (AES) - These systems can be found at accident-prone

areas and the red-light camera at traffic light junctions.

Runaway truck ramp  - A traffic device that enables vehicles having braking problems to stop

safely. These systems are found at mountainous areas such as at nearby Ipoh North Toll

Plaza Interchange along the North–South Expressway Northern Route

[edit]Types of expressway interchanges in Malaysia

These are the different types of expressway interchanges in Malaysia:

Trumpet interchange  - It is usually found in every closed toll system expressway like

the North-South Expressway and East Coast Expressway. The trumpet design is popular as

a highway exit with toll booths for the closed toll system because of the minimum construction

cost of its toll booths.

Cloverleaf interchange  - It is more popular in Malaysia to link two overlapping expressways

because of its relatively cheaper cost. The biggest cloverleaf highway interchange in

Malaysia is Bulatan Darul Ehsan a.k.a. Shah Alam Cloverleaf Interchange of Federal

Highway in Shah Alam, Selangor.

Diamond Interchange  - It is more popular in Malaysia to join the expressway crossing over

municipal roads.

Multi-Level Stacked Diamond Interchange  - It is a diamond interchange upgraded into a multi-

level interchange. Examples include the Bandar Sunway Interchange between Damansara-

Puchong Expressway  and New Pantai Expressway in Petaling Jaya .

Diverging diamond interchange  - This is a rare type of diamond interchange which involves

temporary lane changes, i.e. from left-hand traffic to right and then back to the left. Like SPUI,

it allows traffic from two opposite directions to turn right at the same time but does not allow

traffic to go straight ahead. Examples include the Freescale Interchange  at Damansara-

Puchong Expressway .

Single-point urban interchange  (SPUI) - A SPUI interchange is nearly similar with a typical

diamond interchange but it allows traffic from two opposite directions to turn right at the same

time; however, it does not allow traffic to go straight. Examples include the Danga City Mall

interchange at Skudai Highway  / Johor Bahru Inner Ring Road.

Roundabout interchange  - Very popular in Malaysia.

Parclo interchange  - An example of this is the Port Dickson Interchange on the North-South

Expressway and Kapar Interchange on the New North Klang Straits Bypass.

Directional T interchange  - These interchanges are found at Nilai North and Nilai

Interchanges of North-South Expressway and also Setia Alam  Interchange and Bukit

Lanjan Interchange on New Klang Valley Expressway.

Stacked Interchange  - Examples of these are the Penchala Interchange  on the Damansara-

Puchong Expressway  and Penchala Link of the Sprint Expressway.

Multi-Level Stacked Interchange  - Examples of these are the Ampang Interchange on the

Jalan Ampang and the Ampang flyover of the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2.

Multi-Level Stacked Roundabout  - There are three-level and four-level roundabouts found in

Malaysia. Examples of four-level roundabouts include the Segambut Interchange of Kuala

Lumpur-Rawang Highway and Kewajipan Interchange of New Pantai Expressway.

Double U-Turn Interchange  - These interchanges found at Tampoi North interchange on

the Skudai Highway  and Pasir Gudang Highway .

Left in/left out  (LILO) junction - These junctions restrict the ingress and egress of the minor

roads; they only permit left-turn entries. To turn to opposite direction, motorists may need to

make a U-turn on the expressway. These junctions are very common in urban expressways

such as in Sungai Besi Expressway and Damansara-Puchong Expressway .

[edit]Safety

[edit]Speed limits

Two-Lane 110 km/h of North-South Expressway nearTangkak, Johor.

The default National Speed Limit on Malaysian expressways is 110 km/h (70 mph), but in certain

areas a lower speed limit (such as 90 km/h (55 mph) or 80 km/h (50 mph)) is applied, especially in

large urban areas, crosswinds, heavy traffic and in dangerous mountainous routes and 60 km/h is

applied 1 km before the toll plaza Speed traps are also deployed by the Malaysian police at many

places along the expressways.

[edit]Types of vehicles not allowed to enter an expressway

[edit]PLUS expressway networks and East Coast Expressway (ECE)

Bicycles

Steam roller

Tractors

Excavators and backhoes

[edit]Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH)

Bicycles

[edit]Maju Expressway (MEX) (Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya Expressway (KLPE))

Bicycles

[edit]SMART Tunnel

Motorcycles and bicycles

Bus

Steam roller

Heavy vehicles like lorries, trailers, etc.

Tractors

Excavators and backhoes

[edit]Accidents

Malaysian expressways are potential sites of fatal highway accidents in Malaysia, especially

during festive seasons. However, accidents in Malaysia happen on federal, state, and municipal

roads. Most road accidents are caused by the attitude of certain road users who drive

dangerously over the speed limit.

[edit]List of accident-prone areas in Malaysian tolled expressways and

highways

km 25 of Gunung Pulai  near Kulai, Johor on North-South Expressway Southern Soute

km 171 to 141 of Tangkak - Pagoh stretch on North-South Expressway Southern Soute

km of Jalan Duta  toll plaza, Kuala Lumpur on North-South Expressway Northern Route

km 256 of old Jelapang toll plaza, Perak on North-South Expressway Northern Route

km --- to --- of North-South Expressway Northern Route from Menora Tunnel  to Sungai Perak

Rest and Service Area, Perak

km 31 of Gombak, Selangor on Karak Expressway  (not far from Genting Sempah Tunnel ).

Sungai Besi  sharp corner flyover bridge from Jalan Dewan Bahasa (formerly Jalan Lapangan

Terbang) on Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1 towards Kuala Lumpur-Seremban

Expressway.

km of Kelana Jaya  on Damansara-Puchong Expressway  near Kelana Jaya LRT stations.

km of Puchong on Damansara-Puchong Expressway  near Tractors Malaysia.

km of Damansara Utama -Section 14 on Sprint Expressway.

Subang Jaya  aka Persiaran Tujuan Interchange on the railway bridge corner (from Kuala

Lumpur to Subang Jaya) at the exit of Federal Highway.

[edit]During festive seasons

During festive seasons such as Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Christmas and Hari Raya ,

activities such as construction, road repairs and maintenance works have been temporarily

stopped to ensure a smoother traffic flow on the expressways. Meanwhile, heavy goods vehicles

such as logging trucks, cement trucks, container trucks, construction materials trucks and other

heavy goods vehicles (except tanker lorry, provision goods truck, crane, tow truck, fire engine,

ambulance, etc.) are banned from using roads, highways and expressways during festive

seasons. A massive nationwide operation known as Ops Sikap is held annually by the Malaysian

police to ensure safety on all roads in Malaysia during festive seasons.

[edit]Natural hazards

Other hazardous conditions on expressways include landslides, crosswinds, fog, storms, road

damages, paddy (jerami) burning activities and flash floods.

[edit]List of landslide-prone areas

km of Bukit Lanjan-Jalan Duta on North-South Expressway Northern route

km of Bukit Lanjan between Kota Damansara-Bukit Lanjan on New Klang Valley Expressway

km of Gua Tempurung  between Gopeng-Tapah on North-South Expressway Northern route

km of Bukit Merah between Bukit Merah-Taiping (Utara) on North-South Expressway

Northern route

km of Sungai Perak-Jelapang Toll Plaza  on North-South Expressway Northern route

km of Bukit Berapit between Changkat Jering -Kuala Kangsar on North-South Expressway

Northern route

km of Gombak-Genting Sempah  on Karak Expressway

km of Bukit Tinggi-Bentong on Karak Expressway

km of Gunung Ma'okil  between Pagoh-Yong Peng on North-South Expressway Southern

route

km of Puchong-Seri Kembangan on Damansara-Puchong Expressway  near Puchong Selatan

toll plaza.

km 15 of Skudai-Senai (North) on North-South Expressway Southern route near Skudai toll

plaza.

[edit]List of crosswind-prone areas

km of Senawang-Pedas/Linggi on North-South Expressway Southern route

km of Alor Gajah -Ayer Keroh on North-South Expressway Southern route

km along East Coast Expressway

[edit]List of flash flood-prone areas

km 15 of Batu Tiga  Interchange on Federal Highway

km of Shah Alam Interchange on New Klang Valley Expressway

km of Sungai Besi on Sungai Besi Expressway near Razak Mansion

km of Seberang Jaya  Interchange underpass on Butterworth-Kulim

Expressway near Carrefour Seberang Jaya

km of Alor Star  - Jitra of the North-South Expressway Northern Route

km 173.9 - 171.9 of Jasin, Melaka and Tangkak, Johor on North-South Expressway Southern

Route

[edit]Controversial issues

There are several controversial issues regarding the construction of expressways. The main issue

is the increase of toll rates, which can be a huge burden especially for residents of Kuala

Lumpur and the surrounding Klang Valley conurbation.

There are also various parties who question the capability of the numerous expressways in Klang

Valley to overcome traffic congestion, which does not show signs of improvement with the

construction of new expressways.

Other controversial issues include the following:

1. The cracks found on beams on the Kepong Flyover in Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road

2 (MRR2) on 10 August 2004.

2. The flyover which collapsed on Setia Alam Interchange  in New Klang Valley

Expressway during construction on 10 July 2005, where, tragically, about 4 lives were

lost.

3. The 8 fallen I-beams at the Pajam Interchange  in Negri Sembilan  during the construction

of the Kajang-Seremban Highway  (LEKAS Highway) on the night of 27th

September 2007.

[edit]Interesting facts

PLUS Expressway Berhad  is the biggest highway concessionaries operator company in

Malaysia, also the largest listed toll expressway operator in Southeast Asia, Asia, and the

eighth largest in the world. The second biggest is Prolintas.

The longest bridge in Malaysia is Penang Bridge   with a total length 13.5 km (8.4 miles).

The longest expressway in Malaysia is North-South Expressway     with a total

length 966 km (600 miles).

The longest expressway river bridge in Malaysia is Sungai Johor Bridge on Senai-Desaru

Expressway   with a total length 4 km (2.5 miles)

The section between Cahaya Baru and Penawar of the Senai-Desaru Expressway    is

built as a two-lane single carriageway making the first two-lane controlled-access expressway

in Malaysia.

The most expensive section of the expressway is the Gopeng-Tapah section on the North-

South Expressway Northern Route  . At RM200 million, it translates to RM 20 million per

kilometre. Embankment strengthening is the major contributor for this escalating cost.

The widest toll plaza in Malaysia is Sungai Besi toll plaza in North-South Expressway

Southern Route   with over 18 lanes (excluding additional toll booths).

The highest toll plaza in Malaysia is Setul toll plaza in Kajang-Seremban Highway    is

located at the hilly top of Gunung Mantin-Seremban.

Bandar Saujana Putra Interchange on North-South Expressway Central Link   and South

Klang Valley Expressway   is the only expressway interchange in Malaysia to have two

toll plazas.

The North-South Expressway     is the first expressway in Malaysia that provided an

Overhead Bridge Restaurant (OBR).

The busiest expressway in Malaysia is Federal Highway route   from Klang to Kuala

Lumpur

Federal Highway  route   is the first highway in Malaysia to have a motorcycle lane.

The first highway tunnel in Malaysia is Genting Sempah Tunnel  on Kuala Lumpur-Karak

Expressway  .

The first elevated highway in Malaysia is Ampang -Kuala Lumpur Elevated

Highway (AKLEH)  .

The longest flyover bridge in Malaysia is Batu Tiga Flyover on North-South Expressway

Central Link  .

SMART Tunnel    (4 km (2.5 miles)) is the longest motorway tunnel, as well as the first

double-decked tunnel and the first tunnel that has a stormwater tunnel and a motorway tunnel

in Malaysia.

The widest tunnel in Malaysia is Penchala Tunnel  on Penchala Link of Sprint

Expressway  .

The first expressway with double-decked carriageway in Malaysia is Kerinchi Link on Sprint

Expressway  .

The biggest cloverleaf highway interchange in Malaysia is Bulatan Darul Ehsan

Interchange of Federal Highway route   and Kemuning -Shah Alam Highway    

in Shah Alam, Selangor.

The largest highway interchange in Malaysia is Gelugor Complex Interchange at Penang

Bridge  .

The PLUS Speedway (formerly ELITE Speedway), is the first go-kart circuit in the Malaysian

expressways. The circuit is located near the USJ Rest and Service Area on North-South

Expressway Central Link  .

Tapah  Rest and Service Area (both bound) on North-South Expressway Northern

Route   in Perak is the first rest and service area in the Malaysian expressway to

have wireless broadband internet  facilities.

The PLUS Art Gallery in Ayer Keroh Overhead Bridge Restaurant (OBR) North-South

Expressway Southern Route   is the first highway art gallery in Malaysia.

The largest advertising board on the Malaysian expressways is the Giant Wau Kite

Spectacular Advertising Board on the North-South Expressway Southern Route   

near Sungai Besi and theNorth-South Expressway Central Link   near Putrajaya.

While most toll expressways in Malaysia use green signboards with white letters, the

MetaCorp expressway networks (East-West Link Expressway and Kuala Lumpur-Seremban

Expressway)   use blue signboards instead, as if they are municipal expressways.

Before 2007, all federally-funded expressways have no exit numbering system; however, the

exit number system similar to toll expressways was introduced in 2007 exclusively for Federal

Highwayroute   (then followed by the Putrajaya-Cyberjaya Expressway  route  ); thus

making the Federal Highway as the first federal expressway with expressway exit numbering

system.

Tun Salahuddin Bridge    is the first and currently the only toll expressway in the East

Malaysia, while almost all toll expressways are built in the Peninsular Malaysia. The Tun

Salahuddin Bridge is also the only toll expressway without any grade-separated interchanges.

The Machap Rest and Service Area (north bound) at the North-South Expressway Southern

Route   is the first fully air-conditioned rest area in Malaysia.

The Sungai Perak Rest and Service Area (south bound) at the North-South Expressway

Northern Route   in Perak is the first rest and service area in the Malaysian expressway

to have an eco-management theme known as "The Green Trail" or "Jejak Hijau".

Putrajaya-Cyberjaya Expressway  route   is the first future federal highway on Multimedia

Super Corridor (MSC).

PLUSMiles  is the first and only toll rebate loyalty programme in the Malaysian expressways.

Shah Alam  is the first and currently the only city in Malaysia to have its own municipal route

numbering system, while other municipal routes in Malaysia do not bear any route numbering

scheme.

The longest closed toll collection system coverage in Malaysia is from Juru toll plaza to

Skudai toll plaza (previously Ipoh South toll plaza to Skudai toll plaza), which runs through

the North-South Expressway Northern Route  , New Klang Valley Expressway 

, North-South Expressway Central Link   and North-South Expressway Southern

Route  .

The North-South Expressway Northern Route   is the first and currently the only

expressway in Malaysia to have a runaway truck ramp near Jelapang, Ipoh.

There is one semi tunnel on the East-West Highway (Route  )

from Gerik, Perak to Jeli, Kelantan. It is probably the only one of its type in Malaysia.

The first true two-lane expressway with full access control in Malaysia is the Cahaya Baru-

Penawar section of the Senai-Desaru Expressway   .[7