The Malaysian Expressway System () is a network of national controlled-access expressways in Malaysia that forms the primary backbone network of Malaysian national highways. The network begins with the Tanjung Malim–Slim River tolled road (Federal Route 1) which was opened to traffic on 16 March 1966, later North–South Expressway (NSE), and is being substantially developed. Malaysian expressways are built by private companies under the supervision of the government highway authority, Malaysian Highway Authority (abbreviated as MHA; also referred to as Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia (LLM) in Malay).
Overview
The expressway network of Malaysia is considered as one of the best controlled-access expressway network in Asia after Japan and South Korea. There are 30 expressways in the country and the total length is . and another is under construction. The closed toll expressway system is similar to the Japanese Expressway System and Chinese Expressway System. All Malaysian toll expressways are controlled-access highway and managed in the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) system.
There are expressways in West Malaysia and East Malaysia, however, the former are better-connected. The North–South Expressway passes through all the major cities and conurbations in West Malaysia, such as Penang, Ipoh, the Klang Valley and Johor Bahru. The Pan Borneo Highway connects the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak with Brunei.
Asian Highway Network
A few major expressways in Malaysia are part of the larger Asian Highway Network. The Asian Highway Network is an international project between Asian nations to develop their highway systems, which will form main routes in the network. Seven Asian Highway routes pass through Malaysia:
AH2 Asian Highway Route 2 – along the: North–South Expressway Northern Route E1 (Bukit Kayu Hitam-Bukit Lanjan) , New Klang Valley Expressway E1 (Bukit Lanjan-Shah Alam) , North South Expressway Southern Route E2 (Nilai Utara-Pasir Gudang), North-South Expressway Central Link (ELITE) E6 and; Johor Bahru Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway (JB EDL) E14. AH18 Asian Highway Route 18 – along the Federal Route 3 AH140 Asian Highway Route 140 – along the Federal Route 4 and Butterworth–Kulim Expressway E15 AH141 Asian Highway Route 141 – consists of New Klang Valley Expressway E1 (Bukit Lanjan–Jalan Duta), Duta–Ulu Klang Expressway E33 (Jalan Duta–Sentul Pasar and Sentul Pasar–Greenwood), Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2 28 (Greenwood–Gombak North Interchange), Kuala Lumpur–Karak Expressway E8, East Coast Expressway E8 and Gebeng Bypass 101 AH142 Asian Highway Route 142 – along the MEC Highway FT222, Tun Razak Highway FT12 and Federal Route 1 (Segamat–Yong Peng South Interchange) AH143 Asian Highway Route 143 – along the Second Link Expressway E3 AH150 Asian Highway Route 150 – along the Pan Borneo Highway.
AH2 border crossing dispute
The status of the route alignment of the Asian Highway 2 crossing the Malaysia–Singapore border is in dispute. Malaysia had commissioned the Second Link Expressway E3 as part of AH2 to maintain the primary access-controlled highway status of the route. Meanwhile, Singapore had commissioned the Johor–Singapore Causeway and the Bukit Timah Expressway as part of AH2, as the Johor–Singapore Causeway is the main gateway to Singapore from Malaysia, which could mean that the Skudai Highway would be included in the route alignment instead of the Second Link Expressway.
The completion of Johor Bahru Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway (EDL) in 2012, the Asian Highway AH2 route were re-routed to Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway (EDL) from Second Link Expressway. Second Link Expressway were gazetted as a part of Asian Highway AH143.
The Second Link Expressway, the Ayer Rajah Expressway, Marina Coastal Expressway and Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway were later gazetted as Asian Highway AH143.
History
Interstate
Before tolled expressways were introduced in the mid-1970s, most Malaysians travelled around Peninsula Malaysia on federal roads.
The major reasons for building new expressways in Malaysia are the increasing number of vehicles along federal routes, the opening of major ports and airports in Malaysia, and the increasing population in major cities and towns of Malaysia.
In 1966, the Highway Planning Unit was established under the Ministry of Works and Communications.