Seputeh MP Teresa Kok has urged the government to speed up the opening of the Setiwangsa-Pantai Expressway (SPE) – previously known as the Duke Phase 3 – as the year-long closure of Jalan Loke Yew from today would cause more congestion in downtown Kuala Lumpur, Malay Mail has reported.
Closure of the Loke Yew roundabout and Jalan Sungai Besi stretch that heads to Sungai Besi and Petaling Jaya begins today, and will be in effect until October 1, 2024, which will be for widening works, renovation and construction of a bridge at the Loke Yew roundabout.
“I understand that the SPE was actually completed in May this year, but the government still has not opened the highway until [Saturday],” the Kok said in the report dated September 30. “For residents around Sungai Besi or around the Seputeh Parliament area, SPE is an alternative road that shortens the distance and time to Bukit Bintang and even to Setiawangsa,” the Seputeh MP said in a Facebook post.
Kok has written a letter to to public works minister Alexander Nanta Linggi to ask for the opening of the SPE to be hastened in order to ease the impending congestion due to the road closures, she said.
According to the DUKE website on the SPE, the Setiawangsa-Pantai Expressway is a 29.8 km-long dual carriageway that traverses Kuala Lumpur in a north-south direction with seven interchanges and two ramps, serving areas including Wangsa Maju, Setiawangsa, Ampang, the Tun Razak Exchange and the Bandar Malaysia development corridor as well as Kerinchi.
A Facebook post by Setiawangsa-Pantai Expressway – DUKE 3 added that the SPE uses an open toll system, and has a speed limit of 90 km/h. The seven interchanges are located at Kerinchi, Salak, Pandan, Ampang, Setiawangsa, Genting Klang and Taman Melati.
According to traffic consultant Perunding Trafik Klasik, the SPE is expected to reduce traffic in various locations by 10% to 27%, The Star reported, and the Setiawangsa area is expected to benefit most from the expressway with a 27% reduction in traffic.
The Seputeh MP said that she would write to deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who chairs the cabinet committee on traffic congestions, The Star added.
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SPE is expected to reduce traffic in various locations by 10% to 27%…
Sound brainy… how many cars added to KL each month?
Building highways to curb ever-growing traffic
Is like fighting fire with more fire