WCE highway map

The West Coast Expressway (WCE) and Federal Route 5 (FR5) with a combined length of 275.8 km are expected to receive at least 300,000 vehicles daily when fully completed, which is expected to be either towards the end of next year or early 2025, Utusan Malaysia reported.

The opening of the alignments in Bandar Bukit Raja as well as in Hutan Melintang, Lekir and Changkat Chermin in Perak since May 2019 has increased traffic flow by 60% this year, according to the report.

Four new alignments will be opened this year and these will be Sections 1, 2, 6 and 11 in areas including Banting, the South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE), Assam Jawa and Taiping (South), according to WCE chief executive Lyndon Alfred Felix.

The opening of the Section 4 alignment that is the Federal Highway connection that has reached 99% completion will be opened when land acquisition around Jalan Kebun for Section 3 connecting to the Kesas highway in Shah Alam has been completed, he continued.

West Coast Expressway to open four new alignments

When these are completed, WCE will focus on the construction of the final, 29.5 km-long Section 7 alignment located in Tanjung Karang that will connect with Jalan Kuala Selangor-Teluk Intan on Federal Route 5, the CEO added.

For the upcoming Hari Raya Aidiladha that falls on June 29, Thursday, the highway is prepared to receive more than 100,000 vehicles as this volume has been achieved during the past Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations, and this in fact has surpassed last year’s figure of 60,000 vehicles, according to Felix.

Felix adds that the WCE is also well-suited for commercial vehicles, as travelling along the highway would save travel time by around 30 minutes to an hour. From a safety standpoint, the WCE is also safer as it does not pass through hilly and high-risk areas, and is instead mostly level and has fewer turns, making it suitable for heavy vehicles.

In addition, the WCE is suitable for residents in and around Shah Alam, Klang and Kuala Langat who want to head north without encountering as much traffic from Kuala Lumpur and from the Hulu Selangor, Gombak and Hulu Langat districts, he said.

West Coast Expressway to open four new alignments

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