Kuala Lumpur – Karak Expressway

E8 Expressway
Kuala Lumpur – Karak Expressway
Route information
Maintained by MTD Prime Sdn Bhd
Length:	60 km (37.3 mi)
Existed:	1974 – present
History:	Completed in 1979
Major junctions
West end:	Gombak North, Selangor
	Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2 Genting Sempah-Genting Highlands Highway Federal Route 68 Jalan Sambung Kuala Lumpur/Karak-Bentong Federal Route 8 Federal Route 2 East Coast Expressway
East end:	Karak, Pahang
Location
Primary destinations:	Gombak, Genting Highlands, Bukit Tinggi, Bentong, Karak
Highway system
Highways in Malaysia Expressways • Federal • State

The Kuala Lumpur – Karak Expressway or Karak Expressway (Lebuhraya Kuala Lumpur-Karak, Lebuhraya Karak), or also known as Karak Highway is a 60 km (37 mi) controlled-access highway or motorway in Malaysia connecting the capital city of Kuala Lumpur to the town of Karak in Pahang. It incorporates a twin tunnel at Genting Sempah, near one of Malaysia's famous highland resorts, Genting Highlands. Originally, the highway was used to be a two-lane toll highway before being upgraded to a full expressway in 1997. The speed limit on the expressway is 90 km/h (56 mph).

This road also reportly as one of the most haunted highway in Malaysia.

Route background

Even though the expressways officially begins at Gombak North Interchange in Gombak, Selangor and its interchange with the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2 (Federal Route ), the Kilometre Zero is actually counted from the Kuala Lumpur city centre via Federal Route (Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1, Jalan Pahang (Genting Klang-Pahang Highway), Jalan Gombak (Federal Route ), Jalan Kampung Bandar Dalam and Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway ); the actual starting point of the expressway is counted as Kilometre 19. Next, the expressway passes the Titiwangsa Range and the Genting Sempah Tunnel towards the Genting Sempah at Pahang border.

The section between Bentong and Karak is the sole route from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan and vice-versa, as Jalan Gombak (Federal Route ) which serves as the toll-free alternative for the expressway ends at Ketari, Bentong. At Karak Interchange, the expressway diverts the section to Karak to continue as Federal Route while the expressway itself continues as the East Coast Expressway.

History

Two-lane federal highway

Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway was originally built in 1970s by the government of Malaysia as an alternative for the winding, narrow Federal Route which runs from Gombak in Kuala Lumpur to Bentong, Pahang. The highway is also a part of Federal Route (not to be confused with Federal Highway). The highway included a 900-m tunnel at Genting Sempah, which became Malaysia's first highway tunnel ever constructed. It was officially opened on 1979 by Minister of Works and Communications that time Dato 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 covering 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.

Multi-lane expressway

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 2-lane highway become a dual-carriageway with 6 lanes (3 at each direction) from Kuala Lumpur to Genting Highlands exit and 4 lanes (2 at 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 holds the concession of Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway together with East Coast Expressway. By the completion of Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway, the expressway acquired its official route number, , which resulted in overlapping route numbers. As a result, some maps labelled Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway as and some other maps labelled the expressway as Federal route . No matter which route number is used to refer to Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway, both route numbers can be used since the expressway itself is a part of Federal route .

Safety

Like other highland roads and highways, Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway faces risks of landslides especially during rainy season. Therefore, motorists are advised not to use any highland routes including Karak Expressway during heavy rain to avoid risks of landslides.

The expressway is lit up entirely with LED Street Light.

Major events

• 22 January 1990 – 17 people including 11 FRU riot police personal were killed in a collision between FRU 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.
• 17 September 2009 – Motorists using the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway and the East Coast Expressway can drive toll free on September 18 and 24 from midnight to 5am during Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays.
• 2 September 2010 – The Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway and the East Coast Expressway become toll-free from 9pm till 6am on Sept 7, 8, 15 and 16 during Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays.

Signage indicating approaching exit to Bukit Tinggi, Pahang.

A view of the Karak Toll Plaza from the westbound lane, with peaks of the Titiwangsa Range visible in the background.

Toll rates

(Starting 1 January 2007)

Gombak toll plaza (GBK)

Class	Type of vehicles	Rate (in Malaysian Ringgit (RM))
0	Motorcycles, bicycles or vehicles with 2 or less wheels	Free
1	Vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels excluding taxis	RM5.00
2	Vehicles with 2 axles and 5 or 6 wheels excluding buses	RM10.00
3	Vehicles with 3 or more axles	RM15.00
4	Taxis	RM2.50
5	Buses	RM5.00

Bentong toll plaza (BTG)

Class	Type of vehicles	Rate (in Malaysian Ringgit (RM))
0	Motorcycles, bicycles or vehicles with 2 or less wheels	Free
1	Vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels excluding taxis	RM3.00
2	Vehicles with 2 axles and 5 or 6 wheels excluding buses	RM6.00
3	Vehicles with 3 or more axles	RM9.00
4	Taxis	RM1.50
5	Buses	RM3.00

(Source: Utusan Malaysia, 15 December 2006)

List of Interchanges, Laybys and Rest and Service Areas

km	Exit	Interchange	To	Remarks
		GOMBAK NORTH INTERCHANGE	KUALA LUMPUR MIDDLE RING ROAD 2 SOUTHWEST Batu Caves Kuala Lumpur Ipoh Kepong Petaling Jaya SOUTHEAST Ulu Klang Ampang Cheras AH2 AH2 Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) AH2 AH2 Seremban AH2 AH2 Melaka AH2 AH2 Johor Bahru Shah Alam Klang	Directional T expressway interchange
KUALA LUMPUR MIDDLE RING ROAD 2 Start/End of highway JKR border limit
KUALA LUMPUR-KARAK EXPRESSWAY Start/End of expressway MTD Prime border limit
19 19
Gombak toll plaza GBK RM (Cash) TnG TAG TAG TnG RM (Cash) Opened toll systems Pay toll
		P Gombak toll plaza GBK	TnG TAG i Customer Service Centre	East Coast bound
		P Gombak Layby	Layby	East Coast bound
20 20
		P BH Petrol BH Petrol Layby	BH Petrol	East Coast bound
		P Gombak Layby	C* Layby Lemang stalls	West Coast bound
		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
		P Lemang stalls ---m above sea level	Layby Lemang stalls	East Coast bound
30 30		---m above sea level
31 31		---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
	EXIT 803A	GENTING SEMPAH INTERCHANGE 570m above sea level	EXIT 803A GENTING SEMPAH-GENTING HIGHLANDS HIGHWAY Genting Highlands Gohtong Jaya Institut Aminuddin Baki	Expressway interchange From/To West Coast only
Selangor Darul Ehsan Gombak district border
Genting Sempah Tunnel 700 metres Selangor-Pahang border
Pahang Darul Makmur Bentong district border
	EXIT 803	GENTING SEMPAH INTERCHANGE 561m above sea level MTD Prime maintenance office MTD Prime Genting Sempah Tunnel Monitoring and Maintenance Centre	EXIT 803 Genting Sempah Genting Highlands Gohtong Jaya Institut Aminuddin Baki C7 Janda Baik	West coast bound
		R&R Genting Sempah Rest and Service Area 560m above sea level	Petronas McDonalds ATM C*	R&R complex
		560m above sea level		Kuantan bound, Engage lower gear Start/End of separated carriageway
	EXIT 803	GENTING SEMPAH INTERCHANGE 559m above sea level MTD Prime maintenance office MTD Prime Genting Sempah Tunnel Monitoring and Maintenance Centre	EXIT 803 Genting Sempah Genting Highlands Gohtong Jaya Institut Aminuddin Baki C7 Janda Baik	Expressway interchange
		Sungai Tanglir bridge ---m above sea level		Kuantan bound, Engage lower gear East Coast bound
		P V Genting Sempah vista point and truck stops ---m above sea level	V Truck stops	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
		Kampung Bukit Tinggi ---m above sea level	Kampung Bukit Tinggi Selesa Homes Golf and Country Resort	Small interchange Both directions
47 47		---m above sea level
		Sungai Tanglir bridge ---m above sea level
48 48	EXIT 805	BUKIT TINGGI INTERCHANGE ---m above sea level	Berjaya Hills Resort (Bukit Tinggi Resort)	Trumpet interchange
		Sungai Benus bridge ---m above sea level
		P Lentang Layby ---m above sea level	Layby Lentang waterfall and forest reserve U-Turn	Both bound
		Kampung Lentang ---m above sea level
		U-Turn ---m above sea level	U-Turn
		Sungai Benus bridge ---m above sea level
		Dusun Eco Resort ---m above sea level
		P Petronas Petronas Layby ---m above sea level	Petronas ATM C* 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 RM (Cash) TnG TAG TAG TnG RM (Cash) Opened toll systems Pay toll
		P Bentong toll plaza BTG ---m above sea level
		P Bentong Layby ---m above sea level		West Coast bound
	EXIT 808	BENTONG WEST INTERCHANGE	Bentong Raub Kuala Lipis	East Coast bound
		Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) Bentong
		U-Turn	U-Turn
	EXIT 810	BENTONG EAST INTERCHANGE	Bentong Raub Kuala Lipis	Trumpet interchange
		Taman Benus Jaya
		Sungai Bentong bridge
		Sungai Bentong bridge
		Kampung Sungai Dua		Diamond interchange
77 77	EXIT 813A EXIT 813B	KARAK INTERCHANGE	EXIT 813A FELDA Mempaga Pusat Serenti Mempaga EXIT 813B Karak Mancis Kuala Pilah	Trumpet interchange
KUALA LUMPUR-KARAK EXPRESSWAY
EAST COAST EXPRESSWAY
			EAST EAST COAST EXPRESSWAY Kuala Terengganu Kuantan Temerloh Lanchang

See also

• Malaysian expressway system
• East Coast Expressway

External links

• MTD Prime - concession holder of Karak Expressway
• Malaysian Highway Authority
• Exit lists of Karak Expressway