KUALA LUMPUR: A project to ease traffic congestion in eastern Kuala Lumpur that was six years in the making will finally see the light of day with the opening of Phase 1 of the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) to motorists at noon today.
At the official opening ceremony at the Bukit Teratai toll plaza yesterday evening, Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said motorists would get to enjoy toll-free travel for one month on this expressway beginning today.
“This road will help ease the congestion along roads such as the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) and Jalan Loke Yew, among others, while creating some laudable engineering landmarks,” he said in his speech.
When fully completed by the first quarter of next year, SUKE will be a 24.4km long road that starts from Seri Petaling, where it is connected with the Kesas Expressway, all the way to Jalan Hulu Kelang.
It will have 14 interchanges connecting motorists with the KL-Seremban Expressway, the Sungai Besi Expressway (Besraya), the Cheras-Kajang Expressway (CKE), MRR2, the Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Expressway (Akleh), and the Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (DUKE).
SUKE will also be connected to the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE), which is currently under construction.
Under the Phase 1 opening, motorists will have access to 11 of the 14 interchanges, with the Sri Petaling, Sungai Besi, and Alam Damai interchanges being the last three to be finished. The highway will be monitored by 40 CCTVs and will be equipped with 22 emergency phones, along with the 22 devices that form part of the automated vehicle accident detection system that alerts the operator to abnormal events, including breakdowns and accidents along the expressway.
SUKE cost RM5.7bil.
The first phase of SUKE stretches for 16.6km from the Cheras-Kajang interchange to the Bukit Antarabangsa interchange.
More information can be found at www.mysuke.com.my.