THE much talked-about Duta-UIu Kelang Expressway (Duke) will be opened to motorists early this month.

Construction of the highway, which is scheduled to be completed by Aug, began in early 2005.

Konsortium Lebuhraya Utara-Timur (KL) Sdn Bhd (Kesturi) project director Chua Soo Kok described the highway as the vital missing link.

"It provides connectivity to the east-west route of the city, completing an important link in the Kuala Lumpur Road Master Plan.

"It also links the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE)/SPRINT on the west side of city to the Karak Highway in the north and the Middle Ring Road II at Jalan Ulu Kelang on the east side.

"We are ahead of schedule because we had put in the land acquisition request early. It should be fully operational by April.

"There is, however, another 800m left on the Duta side and we will be making concerted efforts to complete the system.

"We had also opened the Karak and Ulu Kelang side earlier. The design speed of the highway is 90km/h.

Nearly half of the expressway is toll free as the Batu toll is only for west-bound traffic and the Ayer Panas toll is for east-bound motorists. The Sentul toll is also only for the north-bound lanes.

"The toll price should be in line with the average pricing of the expressway.

"We are expecting a volume of 50,000 cars but the highway can take up to 130,000 cars once it is fully operational.

"Almost 40% of the highway is elevated and it will take motorists about 9 mintues to traverse the distance," Chua explained.

Chua added that the highway was designed to disperse traffic in the city by bringing it away from the centre. He also said the company wanted to educate the public on the benefits of using the highway as, on average, motorists spent about 12sen per minute at the traffic lights.

"This figure is based on the use of fuel and wear and tear on the car,? he said.

He said the total cost of the highway RM890mil.

Fact Sheet

1) The DUKE is made up of three essential links:-

- Duta Link, travelling from Duta and Sri Hartamas (near Solaris) towards the east, connecting to main roads like Jalan Kuching and Jalan Sentul.

- Ulu Kelang Link, continues eastwards from Duta Link, crossing into Jalan Pahang, Jalan Ayer Jerneh, Jalan Semarak, Jalan Setiawangsa and Jalan Ulu Kelang/MRR II.

- Karak Link, travelling north from Duta and Ulu Kelang links, providing access to areas like Gombak, Batu Caves, Genting, Karak and on to the East Coast of Malaysia.

2) It has 7 interchanges with 11 entry and 9 exit points:-

Duta Interchange

Kuching Interchange

Ayer Jerneh Ramp

Jalan Pahang Ramp

Semarak Interchange

Setiawangsa Ramp

Hillview Interchange

3) The total length is 18km with up to 8 lanes.

4) The expressway is built, operated and maintain by KESTURI for a concession period of 34 years.