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The Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) will open to the general public very quickly. How quickly? Senior works minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof will officiate the brand new RM5.7 billion freeway tomorrow night time (September 15), and on the launch occasion, he’ll announce the time and date that Part 1 of the SUKE will open to the general public.
Will there be a toll-free introductory interval? We’ll know tomorrow night time, together with the toll fares for the 24.4 km freeway connecting Sungai Besi to Ulu Kelang within the Klang Valley.
By the best way, when SUKE opens to the general public within the very close to future, solely the fully-completed Part 1 will probably be accessible. We sampled this stretch in a media briefing right now, from the unmissable signature Cheras-Kajang interchange to the Bukit Antarabangsa finish level. The portion from Sri Petaling (Kesas, the place Endah Parade is) to Cheras-Kajang will open at a later date.
The Cheras-Kajang interchange is close to Plaza Phoenix and options Malaysia’s first helicoidal ramp. From the Cheras-Kajang Expressway (CKE) a.okay.a Grand Saga, you enter SUKE through a spiral that goes two loops earlier than you attain the highest and be a part of the freeway – this jogs my memory of Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge and a few bridges in China.
This spiral ramp a novelty, but it surely was carried out out of necessity. The SUKE is at its highest level when it crosses the CKE and MRT Kajang Line, and a direct and straight ramp could be approach too steep. The everyday freeway interchange loop as seen on the PLUS and elsewhere requires a giant piece of land. From above, you may see that the helicoidal ramp is certain by a condominium block and a landed housing space with not a number of buffer – this was the one approach.
Talking of top, Cheras and Kajang residents would understand how excessive the SUKE part that crosses the CKE is. At 56.4 metres tall, equal to an 18-storey constructing, that is really the third highest elevated highway in Malaysia, after Penang’s Bukit Kukus paired road and the Rawang Bypass. I’d say that that is extra dramatic than these two roads as there’s a busy freeway and prepare line beneath. The elevated segmented field girder that spans the crossing can also be the very best superstructure to date in Malaysia – once more, this was out of necessity.
As you head in the direction of Ampang from the CKE interchange, the KL skyline is in your left, and the hills are in your proper. One explicit part – Tasik Tambahan – is ideal for an R&R space, and certainly, that is in Prolintas’ plans. The elevated web site on the hill has been earmarked, and the eventual facility may have F&B shops. Consider this as a “SUKE Lookout Level”, a breezy hang around spot with a panoramic view of KL.
One other distinctive SUKE characteristic is on the Jalan Ampang space, the place the bifurcated (split) structure design allows sunlight to reach the Ampang River, which has additionally been straightened. Daylight is critical for a wholesome river ecosystem, so it is a good transfer even when it prices extra. Underneath the freeway construction is a linear park with a 1.6 km jogging path. If I bear in mind appropriately, there’s a stretch on the AKLEH (close to the Saloma Bridge) that additionally options cut up roads with the river within the center, and AKLEH can also be a Prolintas freeway.
Final however not least within the record of distinctive SUKE options is the imposing double-deck construction at Alam Damai in Cheras, the place every tier heads in a unique course. We didn’t get to see this for ourselves up shut as this construction is in Part 2, which can open at a later date.
SUKE has 14 interchanges alongside its 24.4 km fundamental line size (57.7 km if one consists of all of the interchanges), and these are Sri Petaling, Sungai Besi, Alam Damai, Cheras-Kajang, Cheras-Hartamas, Bukit Teratai, Tasik Tambahan, Permai, Kosas, Pekan Ampang, Ampang Level, Ulu Kelang, Hillview and Bukit Antarabangsa. As talked about, the stretch that will probably be opened very quickly is from Cheras-Kajang to Bukit Antarabangsa.
The usefulness of a freeway additionally relies on the way it connects with current highways and trunk roads, and SUKE could be very linked. The Center Ring Street 2 (MRR2) different is linked to the stated ring highway, Kesas (at Sri Petaling), KL-Seremban Freeway, Sungai Besi Expressway (Besraya), Grand Saga, Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Freeway (AKLEH) and the Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (DUKE). The longer term East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) may also be linked.
The freeway has three toll plazas – Alam Damai, Bukit Teratai and Ampang. The latter two are within the first section that will probably be opened quickly. Fares? We’ll know tomorrow night time.
Based on Prolintas group CEO Datuk Mohammad Azlan Abdullah, SUKE is an efficient visitors dispersal answer for the jap a part of KL that’s projected to alleviate visitors on the MRR2 by 30%, Jalan Ampang by 36% and Jalan Loke Yew by 12% throughout peak hours. These three roads are infamous for visitors jams, and if the projections are correct, everybody advantages.
SUKE, which is 90% elevated, needs to be one of the fascinating highways in Malaysia, and I had my face glued to the bus home windows the entire time. Driving lovers may also be salivating; simply take a look at these curves. We tried our greatest to seize the brand new freeway in all its empty glory – take a look at our drone pictures of the SUKE’s helicoidal ramp on the Cheras-Kajang interchange in addition to the scenic “lookout level” the place the long run R&R will probably be at.
Keep tuned for the opening date and fares. For now, more on the SUKE here. Take a look at the map – will this new freeway match into your every day commute? If sure, how?