New Klang Valley Expressway

The New Klang Valley Expressway, or the NKVE AH2 (the official name as stated on the website of PLUS Expressways Berhad, the highway concessionaire) refers to a stretch of the North-South Expressway in Peninsular Malaysia which starts from Bukit Raja near Klang town, and ends at Jalan Duta in Kuala Lumpur. It is a busiest expressway in Klang Valley during rush hour from/to Kuala Lumpur. People sometimes call it the North Klang Valley Expressway due to its location in Malaysia's most populated region, but most refer to it by its initials. The speed limit on the expressway are 110 km/h (68 mph) on Bukit Raja-Bukit Lanjan stretch and 90 km/h (55 mph) on Bukit Lanjan-Jalan Duta stretch.

Route background

The Kilometre Zero starts at Bukit Raja Toll Plaza at Bukit Raja near Klang.

How to get there?

Traffic from the north, destined for places further south of Kuala Lumpur (such as Putrajaya, Seremban, Melaka, Johor Bahru and Singapore), must enter the Bukit Lanjan Interchange and travel west before turning left at Shah Alam (the entry point of North-South Expressway Central Link, ). Another alternative is by entering Kuala Lumpur via Jalan Duta Interchange and entering Jalan Duta-Segambut Highway and Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1 which ends at Kuala Lumpur-Seremban Expressway and the southern route but this alternative is quite unwise especially during peak hours, therefore the NKVE is built to bypass Kuala Lumpur for traveling north-south or vice-versa.

History

Plans of the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) began in 1985 after the North-South Expressway was constructed and the Federal Highway had become a busing traffic during rush hour from/to Kuala Lumpur.

Construction began in 1988, with the first section of the NKVE between Bukit Raja and Damansara opened to traffic on 7 December 1990.^[1][2] The fully completed NKVE spanning between Bukit Raja and Jalan Duta was officially launched by the fourth Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad at Jalan Duta toll plaza on 11 January 1993.

Features

It is the second link to Kuala Lumpur from Klang after Federal Highway. It has no rest and service areas but there are many petrol station laybys along the highway. Other features of this highway includes traffic CCTVs and VMS. Many viaducts along this expressway including Penchala, Bukit Lanjan and Segambut viaducts. Persada PLUS is the main headquarters of the PLUS Expressway Berhad. It is located at Subang Interchange.

Incidents

Rockfall near Bukit Lanjan

In late 2003, a rockfall near the Bukit Lanjan interchange caused the expressway to close for more than six months, causing massive traffic jams to occur in areas surrounding Klang Valley. After clearance of debris and road repairs, the expressway was reopened to public by mid-2004.

Beam collapsed on NKVE-Jalan Meru flyover (Setia Alam Interchange)

On the 10 July 2005, a section of the Setia Alam flyover interchange - which was under construction then - collapsed, resulting in the death of two Bangladeshi workers and injuring seven others. (Source: New Straits Times 21 July 2005)

List of interchanges

See also

• New North Klang Valley Expressway

References

1. ^ "New Klang Valley Expressway newspaper ads (page 6 and 11)". New Straits Times. 1990-12-07. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wLsTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i5ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6826,1887659&dq=tunku+abdul+rahman+1990&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-08-03. 
2. ^ "Parts of the expressway is open". New Straits Times. 1990-12-08. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wbsTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i5ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6906,2245769&dq=new+klang+valley+expressway&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-08-03. 

External links

• PLUS Expressway Berhad
• PLUS
• Malaysian Highway Authority