The new Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway, also known as DASH has officially been opened by Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings (Prolintas), and this comes after the highway operator opened the Sungai Besi-Ulu Klang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) last month.
From its opening to the public from tomorrow, 12:01am on October 14, 2022, passage on the DASH highway will be free of charge until November 30, 2022.
In contrast to the SUKE that is being opened in stages, the DASH highway will be open to the public in its entirety once it has been officially opened. Like the SUKE however, the DASH is elevated, and the just-launched highway has 90% of its route above ground and 10% on ground level.
The following is a list of DASH highway interchanges:
- Puncak Perdana
- Alam Suria
- Denai Alam
- Kampung Melayu Subang
- Pinggiran Subang
- Subang Dua
- Subang Airport
- RRIM (Kwasa Damansara)
- Surian
- Seksyen 5 Kota Damansara
- Sunway Damansara
- Damansara Perdana
- Penchala
Construction of the DASH began in August 2016, and its main sections were completed on September 30, 2022. The concession for DASH began on December 25, 2014 and will end on December 24, 2069 for a total concession period of 25 years.
As detailed in our pre-opening report, the DASH spans 20.1 km from Puncak Perdana to Penchala, or effectively 55.4 km long with the length of all interchanges tallied, the main DASH passage offers a travelling time of 30 minutes, or 60 minutes less than by using existing roads from each of the new highway’s ends.
DASH highway map – click to enlarge
A total of 13 interchanges feature along the DASH, from Puncak Perdana, Alam Suria, Denai Alam, Kampung Melayu Subang, Pinggiran Subang, Subang 2, Subang Airport, RRIM (Kwasa Damansara), Surian, Seksyen 5 Kota Damansara, Sunway Damansara, Damansara Perdana and Penchala.
These connect motorists with alternate paths to Persiaran Surian in Kota Damansara, Subang Airport, Damansara Perdana, Damansara, Penchala as well as for those heading into Kuala Lumpur. Future developments such as Kwasa Damansara and Elmina will benefit from the traffic dispersal facilitated by the DASH, as well as those along the route from Shah Alam to Damansara.
Other highways will also connect to the DASH, and these include the Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE), Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP), the Penchala Link and the Sprint Expressway. Each lane on the DASH is 3.5 metres wide, which collectively form its three-lane, dual carriageway design, joined by a three metre-wide emergency lane.
Average daily traffic on the DASH is expected to be 50,000 vehicles, and the new highway aims to relieve traffic along Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari by 39%, along Jalan Sungai Buloh by 33% and along Persiaran Surian by 43%.
For facilities, the DASH will have two rest and service areas in both directions of the highway at the Denai Alam toll plaza (RSA Denai Alam). This is one of three toll plazas on the DASH, the other two being at RRIM (Kwasa Damansara) and at Kota Damansara. The Kwasa Damansara toll plaza will also feature lay-bys in both directions.
Equipment on the DASH includes 2,441 LED streetlights, 37 high-definition CCTVs, 18 emergency telephones, 30 vehicle incident detection system (VIDS) and 10 variable message signs (VMS). Additionally, the toll plazas along the DASH are unconventional in design in order to enable Prolintas to easily install a multi-lane free flow (MLFF) highway toll collection system.
Located near Damansara Perdana is a first for a Malaysian highway, a fully enclosed highway noise barrier that is 260 m in length. In its vicinity near Empire City is the ‘Spaghetti Link’, a coming together of seven ramps from other existing highways such as the LDP and the Penchala Link with the Penchala Interchange.
In addition to its primary objective of dispersing traffic, the DASH has also been developed to incorporate environmentally friendly initiatives such as solar panels and rainwater harvesting, along with green turf roofs for its toll plaza operations buildings for added eco-friendliness credentials.
