North-South Expressway
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| Image:AutobahnCH.svg | |
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| E1 and E2 expressway | |
| Length: | 966 km |
| Direction: | North→South |
| Start: | Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah |
| Main destinations: | Alor Star Sungai Petani Butterworth Taiping Kuala Kangsar Ipoh Gopeng Tapah Rawang Kuala Lumpur Seremban Melaka Johor Bahru |
| End: | Johor Bahru, Johor |
| Construction dates: | 1981 - 1994 |
| Expressway joined: | Penang Bridge, New Klang Valley Expressway, North-South Expressway Central Link, Seremban-Port Dickson Highway, Second Link Expressway |
The North-South Expressway (NSE) (Malay: Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan) (Chinese : 南北大道) (Tamil : please fill in ) is the longest expressway in Malaysia with the total length of 966 km running from Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah near the Malaysian-Thai border to Johor Bahru at southern Malaysia. The expressway links many major cities and towns in western Peninsular Malaysia, acting as the 'backbone' of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is also known as PLUS Expressway, after the highway's concessionaire, Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan (North South Highway Project).
It is divided into a few main routes; E1 (northern route from Bukit Kayu Hitam to Kuala Lumpur) which also incorporates the Penang Bridge, E2 (southern route from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru). The New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), part of the E1 route, starts from Bukit Raja, Klang to Jalan Duta exit in Kuala Lumpur. The North-South Expressway Central Link (ELITE) (E6), opened in 1999, is a highway built to bypass Kuala Lumpur. It starts from the Shah Alam interchange on the NKVE (E1), past Subang Jaya, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and ends at the Nilai Utara interchange on the E2. The E3 is the Second Link Expressway (Linkedua), which is connected to Malaysia-Singapore Second Link, starting at Senai Airport and ends in Tanjung Kupang before crossing. PLUS also obtained the Seremban - Port Dickson Highway, E29, which starts at Mambau in Seremban with an interchange at Lukut and ending near the town centre in Port Dickson.
E1 and E2 end in Kuala Lumpur. The E1 from the North becomes the New Klang Valley Expressway which further links into the NSE Central Link or for people travelling to Kuala Lumpur exit at the Jalan Duta Toll Plaza which links to the SPRINT Expressway (E23) and the MRR I. The E2 from the South ends in Sungai Besi which then changes into the KL - Seremban Highway with interchanges to the Federal Highway Route 2, Sungai Besi Highway and heads towards the city centre.
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[edit] History
The planning of the national expressway started in the mid-1970's. In 1977, the Malaysian Department of Works received official instructions to draw plans of an expressway from the Malaysia-Thailand border (Bukit Kayu Hitam) to the Johor Causeway. In 1980, the Malaysian Highway Authority was established to monitor all the work progress of the first national expressway.
At that time, all construction works of the expressway between 1981 to 1988 was solely administered by Malaysian Highway Authority before being transferred to Plus Expressways Berhad in 1988. As the construction works continued, segments of the highway were opened to traffic as they were finished to help fund the construction works. Plus Expressway Berhad continued all the construction works from 1988 until completion in 1994, 15 months earlier than scheduled. The expressway was officially opened on September 8, 1994 by Malaysian prime minister at that time, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad.
[edit] Technical specifications
| Expressway | E 1 E 2 NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY |
| Highway concessions | PLUS EXPRESSWAY BERHAD |
| Total Length | 966 km |
| Development Cost | |
| Number of lanes | 4 |
| Interchanges | 75 |
| Toll plazas | 65 |
| Layby | [citation needed] |
| Rest and Service Area | [citation needed] |
| Overhead Bridge Restaurant | 2 |
| Vista Point | 3 |
| Highway tunnels | 1 |
| Toll system | Closed toll system |
[edit] Carriageways
Generally the expressway consists of 4 lanes, 2 for each direction. There are some exceptions to this; the following are stretches with 6 lanes (3 each way):
- Kuala-Lumpur Seremban Expressway, Sungai Besi to Senawang
- New Klang Valley Expressway
- Bukit Lanjan to Rawang
- Juru to Sungai Dua, located at Penang.
- ELITE Expressway, E6, (Bandar Baru Nilai to Shah Alam)
Recently, plans to upgrade the stretches from Slim River to Tanjung Malim, Tanjung Malim to Rawang (Northern route), and Senawang to Ayer Keroh (Southern route) has been approved by the government for better traffic flow. Construction is currently in progress.
Meanwhile, the Jelapang toll plaza and Ipoh Selatan toll plaza at Ipoh will be relocated to make way for a non-stop passage between Jelapang and Ipoh South. This measure is to avoid accidents (especially involving heavy vehicles like buses and lorries) at accident-prone areas such as Jelapang toll plaza.
[edit] Highways of PLUS
- E1 and E2: North-South Expressway (NSE)
- E6: North-South Expressway Central Link (NSECL/ELITE)
- E3: Second Link Expressway (MSSC/LINKEDUA)
- E29: Seremban-Port Dickson Highway (SPDH)
- E1: New Klang Valley Expressway (Part of NSE)
- 2: Federal Highway Route 2 (FHR2)
- Penang Bridge
[edit] Speed limit
North-South Expressway is designed as a high-speed long distance expressway therefore the default speed limit on the North-South Expressway is 110 km/h, but there are some exceptions in some places for several reasons, including:-
- Kuala Kangsar-Jelapang stretch: 80 km/h (highland stretch with dangerous corners)
- Gua Tempurung stretch: 90 km/h (highland stretch)
- Bukit Lanjan exit: 80 km/h (to control traffic flow of NKVE and the main link of northern route to avoid accidents)
- Sungai Besi to Bangi: 90 km/h (due to high traffic capacity)
- Alor Gajah-Ayer Keroh: 90km/h (due to strong crosswind)
[edit] Measures taken to reduce accidents
Most heavy vehicles are only allowed to travel 80-90 km/h by law. Considering that two lanes are inadequate for smooth traffic flow, the expressway is being widened as a result of the increasing number of fatal accidents along this highway.
It has been recently decided that the two-lane 110km/h highway will be upgraded to a three-lane 110km/h highway. The highway widening project has been underway since 2006 as an accident-reducing measure.
[edit] Toll system
The North-South expressway is a toll expressway with two toll systems:-
- Open system - Users only have to pay at certain toll plazas within the open system range for a fixed amount. This system is used from KL to north bound directions.
- Closed system - Users collect toll tickets 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. This system is used between KL and Johor Bahru.
The class of the vehicle ranging from class 0 (motorcycles), 1 (cars), 2 (light trucks with only 2 axles), 3 (heavy trucks and lorries with 3 axles or more), 4 (buses) and 5 (taxis) also determine the price of the toll fare in both systems. On the PLUS Highway system, motorcycles are exempted except on the Penang Bridge and Tanjung Kupang Toll Plaza on Malaysia-Singapore Second Link.
[edit] Toll Abbreviation
- AHT (244) - AYER HITAM
- AKH (231) - AYER KEROH
- ASS (177) - A. SETAR SELATAN
- ASU (178) - A. SETAR UTARA
- BBR (153) - BANDAR BARU
- BDR (130) - BIDOR
- BGS (212) - BANGI
- BKB (118) - BUKIT BERUNTUNG
- BKH (185) - BUKIT KAYU HITAM
- BKM (150) - BUKIT MERAH
- BKR (101) - BUKIT RAJA
- BRG (124) - BEHRANG
- BRT (166) - BERTAM
- BTS (158) - B. TAMBUN SELATAN
- BTU (158) - B. TAMBUN UTARA
- BTT - BATU TIGA
- CKJ (146) - CHANGKAT JERING
- DMR (106) - DAMANSARA
- EBN (602) - EBOR UTARA
- EBS (602) - EBOR SELATAN
- GPG (135) - GOPENG
- GRN (173) - GURUN
- HKG - HUTAN KAMPUNG
- HSB (114) - HOSPITAL SG. BULOH
- IPS (139) - IPOH SELATAN
- JBC (257) - JOHOR BAHARU CAUSEWAY
- JLD (111) - JALAN DUTA
- JLP (141) - JELAPANG
- JRU (160) - JURU
- JSN (233) - JASIN
- JTR (182) - JITRA
- JWI (156) - JAWI
- KDR (107) - KOTA DAMANSARA
- KJG (210) - KAJANG
- KKS (143) - KUALA KANGSAR
- KLA (608) - KL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
- KLI (252) - KULAI
- KPS (255) - KEMPAS
- LBB (120) - LEMBAH BERINGIN
- LKT - LUKUT
- MAC (245) - MACHAP
- MBU - MAMBAU
- NLI (215) - NILAI
- PBSB - PENANG BRIDGE
- PDN (219) - PORT DICKSON UTARA
- PDS (219) - PORT DICKSON SELATAN
- PGH (238) - PAGOH
- PLI (223) - PEDAS LINGGI
- PPM (213) - PERSIMPANGAN PUTRA MAHKOTA
- PSR (126) - SLIM RIVER
- PTJ (607) - PUTRAJAYA
- RAW (116) - RAWANG
- RWS (115) - RAWANG SELATAN
- SAT (227) - SIMPANG AMPAT
- SBG (104) - SUBANG
- SBI - SUNGAI BESI
- SBN (218) - SEREMBAN
- SDK (250) - SEDENAK
- SEA (603) - SEAFIELD
- SGB (113) - SUNGAI BULOH
- SGD (165) - SUNGAI DUA
- SGR - SUNGAI RASAU
- SHA (601) - SHAH ALAM
- SKD (254) - SKUDAI
- SKI (128) - SUNGKAI
- SNU (253) - SENAI UTARA
- SPP (137) - SIMPANG PULAI
- SPR (247) - SIMPANG RENGGAM
- SPS (168) - S. PETANI SELATAN
- SPU (170) - S. PETANI UTARA
- STA (244) - SETIA ALAM
- SWG (220) - SENAWANG
- TGK (235) - TANGKAK
- TGM (121) - TANJUNG MALIM
- TPH (132) - TAPAH
- TPU (148) - TAIPING UTARA
- TLK - TOL LIMA KEDAI
- TTK - TOL TANJUNG KUPANG
- TTP - TOL TAMAN PERLING
- UPM (209) - UNIVERSITI PUTRA M'SIA
- USJ (604) - SUBANG JAYA
- YPS (242) - YONG PENG SELATAN
- YPU (241) - YONG PENG UTARA
- (Source: PLUS Expressway Berhad)
[edit] Facilities along the expressway
- Rest and service areas located about 60 km from each other
- Layby parking areas located about every 2 toll plazas
- Overhead restaurants at Ayer Keroh, Sungai Buloh and USJ.
- Emergency phones every 2 km
- PLUS Ronda (PLUS patrol) service to assist drivers in the event of vehicle problems on the expressway
[edit] General facts about the expressway
- North-South Expressway is Malaysia's first long-distance expressway as well as Malaysia's longest expressway.
- Menora Tunnel, an 800-metre tunnel on the North-South Expressway Northern Route near Jelapang, was once Malaysia's longest highway tunnel at the time of its construction.
- Sungai Besi toll plaza is the widest toll plaza in Malaysia with over 18 lanes (excluding additional toll booths).
- The longest bridge along the expressway is Sungai Perak Bridge (Jambatan Sultan Azlan Shah) with the length of 300 m.
- North-South Expressway is the first expressway in Malaysia that provides overhead bridge restaurants.
- The longest flyover bridge along the NSE network is Batu Tiga flyover in the North-South Expressway Central Link.
- The most expensive section of the expressway is the Gopeng-Tapah section. At RM200 million, it translate to RM 20 million per kilometre. Embankment strengthening is the major contributor for this escalating cost.
- The ELITE Speedway in USJ Layby on North-South Expressway Central Link is the first highway go-kart circuit in Malaysia.
- North-South Expressway forms 80% of Malaysian part of the Asian Highway Network, specifically Asian Highway Route 2. The other expressways in Malaysia included in the route are Skudai Highway, Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1 and Johor Causeway.
- The Nilai Memorial Park near Nilai Layby on North-South Expressway Southern Route is the first closed tolled expressway public memorial park in Malaysia.
- Tapah RSA (both sides) in Perak is the first rest and service area to have wireless broadband internet facilities.
- The PLUS Art Gallery in Ayer Keroh Overhead Bridge Restaurant (OBR) is the first highway art gallery in Malaysia.
[edit] List of interchanges
- Penang Bridge
- North-South Expressway Northern Route
- North-South Expressway Southern Route
- NKVE
- North-South Expressway Central Link
- Second Link Expressway
- Seremban-Port Dickson Highway
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
