Kuala Lumpur–Karak Expressway

The Kuala Lumpur–Karak Expressway[1] East Coast Expressway is a 60-kilometre (37 mi) interstate controlled-access highway in Peninsular Malaysia. It runs between the town of Gombak in Selangor to the southwest and Karak in Pahang to the northeast. The expressway was previously a single-carriageway trunk road forming part of federal route 2; this designation has been kept after the upgrade in 1997. It shares its designation with the East Coast Expressway proper that succeeds it.

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Expressway 8
Kuala Lumpur–Karak Expressway
Lebuhraya Kuala Lumpur–Karak
Map
Route map
Route information
Part of AH141
Maintained by ANIH Berhad
Length60 km (37 mi)
Existed1974–present
HistoryCompleted in 1979
Major junctions
Southwest end FT 28 Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2 at Gombak, Selangor
Major intersections
Northeast end East Coast Expressway East Coast Expressway at Karak, Pahang
Location
CountryMalaysia
Primary
destinations
Gombak, Genting Highlands, Bukit Tinggi, Bentong, Karak
Highway system

The highway has many hairpin bends and many stretches pass through remote forested terrain. Vehicular accidents, many of them fatal, have often occurred on the highway. Because of its remoteness and high number of accidents, the expressway has developed a reputation for being haunted (Example The Legend of The Volkswagen Kuning In English it means Yellow Volkswagen) (see List of reportedly haunted highways).

Route description

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The expressway begins at Gombak, Selangor and its interchange with the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2. Next, the expressway passes the Titiwangsa Range and the Genting Sempah Tunnel towards Genting Sempah at the border with Pahang.

The section between Bentong and Karak is the sole route from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan and vice versa, as Jalan Gombak, which serves as the toll-free alternative for the expressway, ends at Ketari, Bentong. At Karak, route 2 splits off, heading southeast towards the town proper while the expressway heads northeast to meet the East Coast Expressway.

History

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Two-lane federal highway

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Kuala Lumpur–Karak Highway was originally built in the 1970s by the government of Malaysia as an alternative for the winding, narrow route 68 which runs from Gombak in Kuala Lumpur to Bentong, Pahang. The highway is also a part of route 2. The highway included a 900-metre tunnel at Genting Sempah, which became Malaysia's first highway tunnel ever constructed. It was officially opened in 1979 by the former Minister of Works and Communications, Abdul Ghani Gilong.

However, the cost of the construction of this highway was considered as expensive for Malaysia which at that time was an agricultural country. Therefore, the government decided to make Kuala Lumpur–Karak Highway as a toll road to help cover all the construction works. As a result, two toll gates were constructed at Gombak and Bentong and the toll road was administered under Malaysian Highway Authority. The highway was officially opened to traffic in 1977.

 
Signage indicating approaching exit to Bukit Tinggi, Pahang

Multi-lane expressway

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The importance of Kuala Lumpur–Karak Highway as the main road from Kuala Lumpur to eastern states of Peninsular Malaysia resulted in the government's decision to upgrade the highway to a multi-lane expressway by duplicating the whole highway stretch at another side. Thus, the former two-lane highway become a dual-carriageway with six lanes (three in each direction) from Kuala Lumpur to Genting Highlands exit and four lanes (two in each direction) for the rest of the expressway.

The upgrading works also included the construction of a second tunnel located beside the existing tunnel to provide additional two lanes for eastbound traffic, widening the toll gates at Gombak and Bentong and also constructing interchanges to replace junctions. However, some junctions were impossible to be upgraded to interchanges due to their geographical locations and therefore some U-turns were constructed to provide entry and exit to the junction for the opposite direction of the expressway. The expressway has two separate carriageway at Genting Sempah in Selangor–Pahang border (one for Selangor side and one for Pahang side) due to their geographical locations. The upgrade works of the expressway was completed in 1997.

MTD Prime held the concession to operate the expressway. The expressway acquired its official route number, E8, at completion, which resulted in overlapping route numbers. As a result, some maps labelled the expressway as E8 and some other maps labelled the expressway as federal route 2.

On 7 April 2011, ANIH Berhad became the concession holder after taking over operations from MTD Prime Sdn Bhd and Metramac Corporation Sdn Bhd.

Major events

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  • 28 January 1990 – 17 people including 11 FRU riot police personal were killed in a collision between Federal Reserve Unit riot police vehicles, a tanker lorry, a passenger bus and 10 cars at kilometre 32.5 of the highway not far from Genting Sempah Tunnel in Gombak, Selangor.
  • 11 November 2015 – A landslide has occurred at km 52.4 of the Kuala Lumpur–Karak Expressway between Lentang and Bukit Tinggi, Pahang due to heavy rains. The Lentang–Bukit Tinggi stretch of the expressway was closed to traffic.
  • 18 December 2021 -- A storm caused the highway to be blocked in three places by floodwater, mud and forest debris.[2]

Toll systems

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The Kuala Lumpur–Karak Expressway using opened toll system.

Electronic Toll Collections (ETC)

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As part of an initiative to facilitate faster transaction at the Gombak and Bentong Toll Plazas, all toll transactions at both toll plazas on the Kuala Lumpur–Karak Expressway have been conducting electronically via Touch 'n Go cards or SmartTAGs starting 9 September 2015.

Toll rates

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(Starting 15 October 2015)

Class Type of vehicles Rate (in Malaysian Ringgit (RM))
Gombak Bentong
0 Motorcycles, bicycles or vehicles with 2 or less wheels Free
1 Vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels excluding taxis 6.00 3.50
2 Vehicles with 2 axles and 5 or 6 wheels excluding buses 12.00 7.00
3 Vehicles with 3 or more axles 18.00 10.50
4 Taxis 3.00 1.80
5 Buses 5.00 3.00

Interchange list

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km Exit Interchange To Remarks
Gombak North Interchange   FT 28   AH141 Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2

Southwest   AH141
Batu Caves
Kuala Lumpur
Kepong
  Duta–Ulu Klang Expressway Sentul
  FT 1 Rawang
  North–South Expressway Northern Route Ipoh
  Damansara–Puchong Expressway Petaling Jaya

Southeast
Ulu Klang
Ampang
Cheras
  Sungai Besi–Ulu Klang Elevated Expressway Kajang
  North–South Expressway Central Link   AH2 Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)  
  North–South Expressway Southern Route   AH2 Johor Bahru
  North–South Expressway Southern Route   AH2 Melaka
  North–South Expressway Southern Route   AH2 Seremban
  Shah Alam Expressway Shah Alam
  Shah Alam Expressway Klang
Directional T expressway interchange
  FT 28   FT 2   AH141 Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2
Start/end of highway
JKR border limit
   East Coast Expressway   FT 2   AH141 Kuala Lumpur–Karak Expressway
Start/end of expressway
ANIH Berhad border limit
  East Coast Expressway
19

  FT 2
19
Gombak toll plaza
GBK
Touch 'n Go SmartTAG MyRFID SmartTAG Touch 'n Go
Opened toll systems
Pay toll
  East Coast Expressway
19.9

  FT 2
19.9
  Gombak toll plaza
GBK
  TnG TAG  
Customer Service Centre
East Coast bound
  East Coast Expressway
20

  FT 2
20
  Gombak Layby    
Layby
East Coast bound
  East Coast Expressway
20.1

  FT 2
20.1
UIA Interchange   East Klang Valley Expressway KL Node Expressway

North
Rawang
Kuala Selangor

South
Kajang
Hulu Langat
Ampang
Ulu Klang
Interchange
Under planning
  BH Petrol BH Petrol Layby     BH Petrol East Coast bound
  Gombak Layby        
Layby
Lemang stalls
West Coast bound
JPJ Malaysian Road Transport Department (JPJ) Enforcement Stations JPJ Malaysian Road Transport Department (JPJ) Enforcement Stations East Coast bound
Sungai Gombak bridge
---m above sea level
Kampung Hulu Gombak
---m above sea level
U-Turn
---m above sea level
U-Turn
  Lemang stalls
---m above sea level
 
Layby
Lemang stalls
East Coast bound
  East Coast Expressway
30

  FT 2
30
---m above sea level
  East Coast Expressway
30.5

  FT 2
30.5
---m above sea level
  East Coast Expressway
31

  FT 2
31
---m above sea level
  East Coast Expressway
31.5

  FT 2
31.5
---m above sea level
---m above sea level Start/end of separated carriageway
Viaduct
---m above sea level
Kuala Lumpur bound,
Engage lower gear

West coast bound
---m above sea level Kuala Lumpur bound,
Engage lower gear

Start/end of separated carriageway
Viaduct
---m above sea level
Kuala Lumpur bound,
Engage lower gear
Viaduct
---m above sea level
Kuala Lumpur bound,
Engage lower gear
803A Genting Sempah Interchange
570m above sea level
803A
  FT 68 Genting Sempah-Genting Highlands Highway
  FT 68 Genting Highlands
  FT 68 Gohtong Jaya
Institut Aminuddin Baki
Expressway interchange
From/to West Coast only
Genting Sempah Tunnel
700 metres
Start/end of tunnel
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Gombak district border
Genting Sempah Tunnel
700 metres
Selangor-Pahang border
570m above sea level
Pahang Darul Makmur
Bentong district border
Genting Sempah Tunnel
700 metres
Start/end of tunnel
803 Genting Sempah Interchange
561m above sea level
MTD Prime maintenance office
MTD Prime Genting Sempah Tunnel Monitoring and Maintenance Centre
803
  FT 68 Genting Sempah
  FT 68 Genting Highlands
  FT 68 Gohtong Jaya
 C7 Janda Baik
Institut Aminuddin Baki
West coast bound
  Genting Sempah Rest and Service Area
560m above sea level
    Petronas McDonald's         R&R complex
560m above sea level Kuantan bound,
Engage lower gear

Start/end of separated carriageway
803 Genting Sempah Interchange
559m above sea level
MTD Prime maintenance office
MTD Prime Genting Sempah Tunnel Monitoring and Maintenance Centre
803
  FT 68 Genting Sempah
  FT 68 Genting Highlands
  FT 68 Gohtong Jaya
 C7 Janda Baik
Institut Aminuddin Baki
U-Turn Ramp on East coast bound
Sungai Tanglir bridge
---m above sea level
Kuantan bound,
Engage lower gear

East Coast bound
  V Genting Sempah vista point and truck stops
---m above sea level
  V
 
West Coast bound
---m above sea level Start/end of separated carriageway
Start/end of six-lane carriageway
Kuantan bound,
Engage lower gear
Sungai Tanglir bridge
---m above sea level
Kuantan bound,
Engage lower gear
  East Coast Expressway
42

  FT 2
42
---m above sea level Kuantan bound,
Engage lower gear
42.8
  East Coast Expressway
43

  FT 2
43
Kampung Bukit Tinggi
---m above sea level
  FT 68 Kampung Bukit Tinggi
Selesa Homes Golf and Country Resort
Small interchange
Both directions
  East Coast Expressway
47

  FT 2
47
---m above sea level
Sungai Tanglir bridge
---m above sea level
  East Coast Expressway
48

  FT 2
48
805 Bukit Tinggi Interchange
---m above sea level
Berjaya Hills Resort
(Bukit Tinggi Resort)
Trumpet interchange
Sungai Benus bridge
---m above sea level
  Lentang Layby
---m above sea level
  Lentang Laybys
 
Layby
Lentang waterfall and forest reserve
Lentang Forest Rangers Office


U-Turn

West
Kuala Lumpur

East
Kuantan
Both bound
Kampung Lentang
---m above sea level
Sungai Gisai bridge
---m above sea level
Sungai—bridge
---m above sea level
U-Turn
---m above sea level
U-Turn

WEST
Kuala Lumpur

East
Kuantan
Sungai Benus bridge
---m above sea level
Dusun Eco Resort
---m above sea level
Dusun Eco Resort East Coast bound
  Petronas Petronas Layby
---m above sea level
    Petronas        
Singgah Food Court
East Coast bound
Sungai Perting Pandak bridge
---m above sea level
Sungai Benus bridge
---m above sea level
Bentong toll plaza
BTG
Touch 'n Go SmartTAG MyRFID SmartTAG Touch 'n Go
Opened toll systems
Pay toll
  Bentong toll plaza
BTG
---m above sea level
 
  Bentong Layby
---m above sea level
  West Coast bound
808 Bentong West Interchange   FT 121 Bentong
  FT 8 Raub
  FT 8 Kuala Lipis
  FT 55 Bukit Fraser
  FT 102 Cameron Highlands
East Coast bound
MRSM Bentong
U-Turn U-TURN
809 Mempaga Interchange   FT 34 Central Spine Road
Bentong
Raub
Gua Musang
Trumpet Interchange but no Karak exit
810 Bentong East Interchange   FT 8 Kuala Lumpur–Kota Bharu Highway
Bentong
Raub
Kuala Lipis
  FT 55 Bukit Fraser
  FT 102 Cameron Highlands
Trumpet interchange
Taman Benus Jaya
Sungai Bentong bridge
Sungai Bentong bridge
Kampung Sungai Dua Kampung Sungai Dua Diamond interchange
  East Coast Expressway
77

  FT 2
77
813A
813B
Karak Interchange 813A
  FT 1498 FELDA Mempaga
  FT 1498 Kampung Cinta Manis
Pusat Serenti Mempaga

813B
  FT 2 Karak
  FT 9 Mancis
  FT 9 Kuala Pilah
Semi-Trumpet interchange
   East Coast Expressway   FT 2   AH141 Kuala Lumpur–Karak Expressway
   East Coast Expressway   AH141 East Coast Expressway
East
  East Coast Expressway   AH141 East Coast Expressway
  East Coast Expressway   AH141 Kuala Terengganu
  FT 231 Kuantan
  FT 98 Temerloh
  FT 236 Lanchang

See also

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References

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  1. ^ ERIA Study Team. "Current Status of ASEAN Transport Sector" (PDF). ASEAN Strategic Transport Plan 2011-2015. Jakarta: ASEAN Secretariat and ERIA: 3-1–3-95. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Investigate, act fast against those responsible for mudflows and log slides near Karak town - Sahabat Alam Malaysia". Retrieved 2024-05-17.
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