Choronology of the Malaysian Expressway System

This is a chronology of major events in the Malaysian Expressway System.

Date	Events	Remarks
1961	Jalan Universiti and Jalan Gasing were the first dual-carriageway road in Malaysia since independence.
August 1965	Jalan Kinabalu flyover was the first flyover in Malaysia since independence.
16 March 1966	The Tanjung Malim-Slim River tolled road (Federal Route ), Malaysia's first tolled highway was opened to traffic. Toll collection began on 6 am in the morning.	Length : 25 kilometres Tanjung Malim - Slim River
1967	Federal Highway Route , which is the first dual-carriageway highway in Malaysia was opened to traffic. It connects Port Swettenham (now Port Klang) to Kuala Lumpur.	Length : 45 kilometres Port Swettenham (Port Klang) - Kuala Lumpur
Early 1970s	The idea to built a bridge linking Seberang Perai to Penang Island was suggested by the late Tun Abdul Razak, the second Prime Minister of Malaysia.
3 April 1973	The upgrading works on the Federal Highway Route from Petaling Jaya to Kuala Lumpur	Six lane carriageway (Guinness Brewery, Seri Setia - EPF Building) Eight lane carriageway (EPF Building - Jalan Pantai Baharu) 2 Motorcycle lanes 4 flyovers
Late 1970s	The Penang Bridge was planned during the term of third Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn.
June 1977	The construction of the North-South Expressway had begun.
1979	Opening of the Genting Sempah Tunnel and Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway.	Length : 60 kilometres Kuala Lumpur - Karak
24 October 1980	Constitution of the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA)	Established by Act of Parliament as a statutory body in 1981
23 July 1981	Works Minister S. Samy Vellu announced that the Penang Bridge, Penang would be constructed using the cable-stayed concrete girder of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge instead of the steel-tied arch in the style of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
2 January 1982	All roads, highways and expressways in Malaysia are now switched to the Metric unit of kilometres replacing Imperial unit of miles.
13 February 1982	Official opening of the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban Expressway	Length : 47 kilometres Kuala Lumpur - Seremban
1982	Construction of the Penang Bridge officially began
1983	Opening of the North Klang Straits Bypass (Federal Route )	Length: 15.1 kilometres Sungai Rasau - Port Klang
1 April 1985	Official Opening of the Bukit Kayu Hitam – Jitra Highway	Length : 24 kilometres
3 August 1985	Official opening of the Penang Bridge	YAB Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad Length : 13.5 kilometres Seberang Perai - Penang Island
14 September 1985	Penang Bridge is officially opened to traffic.
2 November 1985	Official Opening of the Senai – Johor Bahru Highway (Skudai Highway)	Length : 25 kilometres
27 June 1986	Formation of Highway Concessionnaires Berhad, the first highway concessionaire in Malaysia
March 1987	Opening of the Jalan Kuching Toll Plaza on Kuala Lumpur-Rawang Highway (Federal Route )
13 August 1987	Official Opening of the Seremban – Ayer Keroh Highway and the closing of the old Seremban Toll Plaza near Labu	Length : 68.4 kilometres
28 September 1987	Official Opening of the Ipoh – Changkat Jering Highway	Length : 53.4 kilometres
1 October 1987	The closed-toll system came into force along the Kuala Lumpur-Ayer Keroh and Ipoh-Changkat Jering expressways
13 May 1988	Highway Concessionaires Berhad changes its name to Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan Berhad (PLUS)
6 June 1988	Official Opening of the Jitra – Gurun Highway	Length : 59 kilometres
1 February 1989	The Malaysian National Speed Limit was enforced	Light vehicles : 110 km/h (expressways); 90 km/h (federal and state roads) Heavy vehicles : 90 km/h (expressways); 80 km/h (federal and state roads)
1 April 1989	Official Opening of the Ayer Keroh – Pagoh Highway	Length : 54.4 kilometres
1 April 1990	First Malaysian highway patrol unit "PLUS Ronda" formed	To assist users stranded on highways
7 December 1990	Official Opening of the Bukit Raja – Damansara Highway	Length : 21.1 kilometres
14 April 1991	Official Opening of the Gurun – Sungai Petani (S) Highway	Length : 24.8 kilometres
September 1991	Opening of the Cheras Highway (Federal Route ) and Jalan Cheras Toll Plaza
28 March 1992	Official Opening of the Damansara – Rawang Highway	Length : 28.4 kilometres
1 August 1992	Official Opening of the Rawang – Tanjung Malim Highway	Length : 43 kilometres
1 October 1992	Official Opening of the Pagoh - Yong Peng (N) Highway	Length : 47 kilometres
1 January 1993	The Malaysian Highway Network Development Plan blueprint is launched
11 January 1993	Official Opening of the Bukit Lanjan – Jalan Duta Highway and the New Klang Valley Expressway	YAB Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad Total Length : 35 kilometres Bukit Lanjan – Jalan Duta Highway Length : 8.3 kilometres
25 June 1993	Official Opening of the Simpang Pulai – Gopeng Highway	Length : 10 kilometres
12 August 1993	Official Opening of the Yong Peng (N) – Machap Highway	Length : 26.7 kilometres
17 August 1993	Official Opening of the Sungai Petani (S) – Butterworth Highway	Length : 28.5 kilometres
1 October 1993	Official Opening of the Tapah – Tanjung Malim Highway	Length : 72.5 kilometres
1 November 1993	Official Opening of the Sedenak – Skudai Highway	Length : 27.6 kilometres
14 November 1993	Official Opening of the Federal Highway Route tolled highway Batu Tiga - Sungai Rasau	Length : 15 kilometres
8 January 1994	Official Opening of the Machap – Sedenak Highway	Length : 31.7 kilometres
8 January 1994	Official Opening of the Skudai – Johor Bahru Highway	Length : 17.3 kilometres
16 January 1994	Official Opening of the Ipoh Selatan – Simpang Pulai Highway	Length : 13.6 kilometres
5 February 1994	Official Opening of the Juru – Changkat Jering Highway	Length : 79.5 kilometres
7 February 1994	Official Opening of the Gopeng – Tapah Highway	Last stretch Length : 30.3 kilometres Completed 15 months ahead of schedule
1 March 1994	The construction of the North-South Expressway Central Link began
22 March 1994	Construction of the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link officially began
8 September 1994	Official Opening of the North-South Expressway	YAB Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad Length : 966 kilometres
September 1994	Official launch of the PLUS TAG, the first electronic payment system (EPS) in Malaysia	From Rawang to Bukit Raja on North South Expressway Northern Route and NKVE From Sungai Rasau to Batu Tiga on Federal Highway Route 2 (FHR2)
1 August 1995	Opening of the Jalan Pahang Toll Plaza on Genting Klang-Pahang Highway (Federal Route )
17 August 1995	Official opening of the East-West Link Expressway	Length : 13 kilometres
11 March 1996	Official Opening of the Sungai Buloh Overhead Bridge Restaurant	First Overhead Bridge Restaurant in Malaysia opened on NSE
June 1996	Official opening of the Seafield - Sri Petaling sections of the Shah Alam Expressway and the Shah Alam - USJ sections of the North-South Expressway Central Link.
18 March 1997	The Official launch of the Touch 'n Go Electronic Payment System (EPS)
October 1997	Official Opening of the Shah Alam Expressway and the North-South Expressway Central Link.	Shah Alam Expressway Length : 34.5 kilometres North-South Expressway Central Link Length : 60 kilometres
November 1997	Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway is upgraded to a four-lane expressway
18 April 1998	Official Opening of the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link (including the Tuas Checkpoint on the Singapore side, Sultan Abu Bakar Custom, Immigration and Quarantine Checkpoint and Second Link Expressway on the Malaysia side)	YAB Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad Prime Minister of Singapore Mr Goh Chok Tong Length : kilometres
June 1998	Official opening of the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway	Length : 17 kilometres
17 October 1998	PLUSRonda is the first highway patrol in Malaysia to be given Royal Malaysian Police Auxiliary Police power.
15 January 1999	Official opening of the Cheras - Kajang Expressway	Length : 11.5 kilometres
February 1999	Official opening of the Damansara-Puchong Expressway	Length : 40 kilometres
15 March 1999	Official launching of Smart TAG on-board unit (OBU) and lanes on NSE replaced PLUS TAG	21 plazas from Bukit Beruntung to Senawang
11 April 1999	Official opening of the Ayer Keroh Overhead Bridge Restaurant	Second OBR opened on NSE
15 May 1999	Official opening of the Sungai Besi Expressway	Length : 16 kilometres
1 February 2000	Construction of the East Coast Expressway began.
4 February 2000	First Drive-Through Purchase and Refill Touch ‘n Go card lane (POS) opened on NSE (Subang Toll Plaza)	TNG users can refill and purchase new TNG card directly from the lane without the hassle of going to customer service centres.
15 March 2000	TNG POS lane opened at Batu Tiga Toll Plaza
April 2000	Official opening of Galeri Seni Art on PLUS	Ayer Keroh OBR First art gallery on highway
2 May 2000	TNG POS lane opened at Sungai Besi Toll Plaza
August 2000	SmartTAG lanes opened at five more toll plazas	Allow users to use SmartTAG from North to South Sungai Dua, Juru, Jelapang, Ipoh Selatan and Skudai toll plazas
8 August 2000	TNG POS lane opened at Ipoh Selatan, Damansara, Rawang, Sungai Buloh, Bukit Raja, Sungai Rasau and Kajang toll plazas.
14 October 2000	Official Opening of the Ekspres Travel Shoppe at Sungai Buloh OBR	First travel and souvenir shop selling highway-related items
15 February 2001	Official opening of Putra Mahkota Interchange	5 lanes (including 2 TNG lanes)
17 May 2001	Official opening of the Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH)	Length : 7.9 kilometres
10 June 2001	Official opening of the ELITE Fasttrack Speedzone Opening	First Go-Kart Track on Highway
16 June 2001	Official opening of the Ekspres Travel Shoppe at Tapah R&R	2nd E’Shoppe on NSE
12 July 2001	Official opening of the Kerinchi Link and Damansara Link on the Sprint Expressway	Length : kilometres Western Dispersal Link Scheme
29 January 2002	PLUS Expressways incorporated in Malaysia as the Public Company	PLUS Expressways is a holding company with a single wholly owned subsidiary, PLUS.
6 May 2002	Launch of Spectacular Advertising Board at Sungai Besi	Largest Advertising Board on Highway
13 July 2002	Brick ceremony of the Pendang Interchange	Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
30 October 2002	Old Nilai Interchange Closed	12 midnight
31 October 2002	New Nilai Interchange Opened	Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan Dato’ Seri Utama Tan Sri Hj Mohd Isa Dato’ Hj Abdul Samad 12:01 am To replace old Nilai Interchange RM49.77 million Location: KM 283.5 12 lanes
31 October 2002	Touch ‘n Go auto-reload facility relaunched
7 January 2003	The Jalan Kuching Toll Plaza on Kuala Lumpur-Rawang Highway (Federal Route ) was officially closed.
14 February 2003	The Southern Integrated Gateway (New CIQ complex and new bridge) in Johor Bahru is officially launched by the then Malaysian prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad.
March 2003	Official opening of the Kota Damansara Interchange	Alternative access to Kota Damansara and Mutiara Damansara
1 September 2003	ELITE and Linkedua are now under PLUS Expressways Berhad
21 September 2003	Official opening of the Tun Salahuddin Bridge in Kuching, Sarawak.	Chief Minister of Sarawak Tan Sri Datu Patinggi Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud Length : 4 kilometres
25 November 2003	The construction of the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART Tunnel) projects has begun
18 March 2004	The Jalan Cheras Toll Plaza was officially closed
March 2004	The Senai Toll Plaza on Skudai Highway (Federal Route ) was officially closed
22 April 2004	Official opening of the East Coast Expressway Phase 1 Karak - Kuantan	DYMM Sultan of Pahang Length : 350 kilometres
May 2004	Official opening of the Penchala Link on the Sprint Expressway	Length : 26.5 kilometres
1 July 2004	The electronic payment system, Touch 'n Go and Smart TAG, have been made compulsory in all expressways. Other EPS toll systems like FasTrak (Gamuda Expressway Networks) and SagaTag (Cheras - Kajang Expressway) were abolished
8 July 2004	Official opening of the Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (SILK)	Length : 37 kilometres
11 July 2004	Official opening of the New Pantai Expressway	Length : 19.6 kilometres
14 September 2004	The Jalan Pahang Toll Plaza on Genting Klang-Pahang Highway (Federal Route ) was officially closed
July 2005	Official opening of the Guthrie Corridor Expressway	Length : 25 kilometres
September 2005	Official opening of the Butterworth Outer Ring Road	Length : 14 kilometres
12 April 2006	Construction of the new Tanjung Puteri road bridge replacing the Malaysian side of causeway was cancelled	To avoid implication laws between two countries.
June 2006	Tapah RSA (both directions) in Perak is the first rest and service area in the Malaysian expressway to have wireless broadband internet facilities was launched
14 July 2006	Official opening of the Setia Alam Interchange and Shah Alam-Meru Highway	Alternative access to Setia Alam, Meru and Kapar
August 2006	The Malaysian federal government plans to build the Penang Second Bridge in the Ninth Malaysia Plan	To slove the congestion of the Penang Bridge.
18 October 2006	Official Opening of the Pendang Interchange	Alternative access to Pendang and Kota Sarang Semut
12 November 2006	The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Penang Second Bridge	Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
2 April 2007	Official Opening of the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) Traffic Management Centre (LLM TMC)	Minister of Works Dato' Seri S Samy Vellu
14 April 2007	Opening of the motorway tunnel sections for the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART Tunnel)	3:00 pm Length : 4 kilometres To solve the problem of flash floods in Kuala Lumpur and also to reduce traffic jams along Jalan Sungai Besi and Yew flyover at Pudu during rush hour.
15 July 2007	The second part of the East Coast Expressway Phase 1, the Sri Jaya Interchange and Jabur Interchange was opened
August 2007	The completion of upgrading works on North-South Expressway including:- Rawang-Slim River six-lane carriageway, and Seremban-Ayer Keroh six-lane carriageway
September 2007	The construction of the Kemuning-Shah Alam Highway (LKSA)	Length: 14.7 kilometres Linking Shah Alam to Kota Kemuning
1 October 2007	The construction of the JB Eastern Dispersal Link	Length: 7 kilometres The new expressway linking Pandan Interchange on North-South Expressway to the new CIQ complex (Southern Integrated Gateway)
10 October 2007	Opening of the Pontian-Johor Bahru Parkway (Pontian Link)	Length 2.7 kilometres Linking Pulai Interchange to Ulu Choh-Gelang Patah Interchange
13 December 2007	Opening of the Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya Expressway	Length: 42 kilometres The main backbone of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)
5 March 2008	Official opening of the Bandar Saujana Putra Interchange
18 March 2008	Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE) has now under PLUS Expressways Berhad
9 March 2008	The Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya Expressway has changed its named to Maju Expressway
7 June 2008	The new Ipoh North toll plaza (South bound) replacing old Jelapang toll plaza is now opened to traffic.
15 August 2008	The new Ipoh North toll plaza (North bound) replacing old Jelapang toll plaza is now opened to traffic.
22 August 2008	Officially opening of the Kajang-Seremban Highway Phase 1 Kajang Selatan - Pajam	Minister of Works Datuk Ir Mohd Zin Length : 44.3 kilometres
22 September 2008	The new Ipoh South toll plaza (South bound) replacing old Ipoh South toll plaza is now opened to traffic.
23 October 2008	The new PLUS Expressway Berhad corporate logo is launched.
1 December 2008	Opening of the new CIQ Complex and short-term access (STA) temporary road (Southern Integrated Gateway) (Sultan Iskandar CIQ Complex) in Johor Bahru. Officially known as Sultan Iskandar Complex	DYMM Sultan of Johor The largest CIQ complex in Malaysia
16 December 2008	The Sultan Iskandar Complex is opened to light vehicles	At 12:01 am on Tuesday
17 December 2008	Launching of the PLUSMiles toll rebate loyalty program.	The first and the only toll expressway loyalty programme in Malaysia
1 January 2009	Class 1 highway users travelling on the North-South Expressway (NSE) and North-South Expressway Central Link (ELITE) between 12:00 midnight and 7:00 am will be able to enjoy 10 percent toll discount.
9 January 2009	Opening of the Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway Phase 1 Sentul Pasar - Ulu Klang and Phase 2 Greenwood - Sentul Pasar	Length: 18 kilometres Kuala Lumpur Northeast Dispersal Link Scheme
14 February 2009	Collection of toll at the PJS 2 toll plaza heading towards Kuala Lumpur on the New Pantai Expressway (NPE) near Petaling Jaya, Selangor has been abolished.	To ease the burden of residents of Taman Medan, Kampung Dato' Harun and nearby areas due to the none availability of an alternative route for the KL bound residents resulting from a reconfiguration of traffic flow in the area
19 February 2009	Official opening of the Putra Heights Interchange
25 February 2009	The Salak Jaya toll plaza (south bound) on Sungai Besi Expressway is abolished and the future expansion of the Besraya expressway to the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2 near Pandan is announced.
30 April 2009	Opening of the Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway Phase 3 Jalan Duta - Sentul Pasar	Length: 18 kilometres Kuala Lumpur Northeast Dispersal Link Scheme
23 May 2009	Malaysia plans to build the third crossing bridge connecting Pengerang in the eastern of Johor to Changi in Singapore
14 July 2009	The completion of upgrading works on North-South Expressway including:- Kuala Lumpur-Penang Through Traffic (Ipoh North (Jelapang) - Ipoh South)	Minister of Works Dato’ Shaziman Hj Abu Mansor Beginning 11:00 am Length: 14.7 kilometres Highway users are no longer required to stop for toll transactions at the Ipoh North and Ipoh South Toll Plazas.
August 2009	The construction of the South Klang Valley Expressway Section 1B, 2 and 3: Cyberjaya - Pulau Indah	Length: 51.7 kilometres Linking Cyberjaya to Pulau Indah
1 September 2009	The 20 per cent expressway toll rebate given to motorists who pay toll charges more than 80 times a month, can be saved for up to six months. The rebate can be redeemed at 126 locations which would be announced in due time.
10 September 2009	Opening of the Senai-Desaru Expressway Phase 1: Senai - Cahaya Baru	Length: 50 kilometres
17 September 2009	Motorists using the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway and the East Coast Expressway (both ) can drive toll free on September 18 and 24 from midnight to 5am during Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
25 September 2009	The Automated Enforcement System (AES) will be introduced for all expressways and highways in Malaysia.	To reduced road accidents.
6 January 2010	The PLUSTransit reusable transit cards is introduced replacing the existing transit tickets.	The Sungai Dua-Hutan Kampung stretch on the North-South Expressway become the first highway to used the transit cards.
8 January 2010	Official opening of the Persada PLUS, the PLUS Expressways Berhad main headquarters in Subang Interchange of the New Klang Valley Expressway, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.	YAB Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak 23.6-acre (96,000 m2)
15 April 2010	Construction of the new interchange of the North-South Expressway including:- Alor Pongsu Interchange, Sungai Buaya Interchange and Bukit Gambir Interchange
18 May 2010	Opening of the Kemuning-Shah Alam Highway (LKSA)	Minister of Works Dato’ Shaziman Hj Abu Mansor Length: 14.7 kilometres Linking Shah Alam to Kota Kemuning
1 July 2010	Opening of the South Klang Valley Expressway Section 1B: Cyberjaya - Saujana Putra	Minister of Works Dato’ Shaziman Hj Abu Mansor Length: 12 kilometres Linking Cyberjaya to Bandar Saujana Putra
2 August 2010	Heavy vehicles is banned during peak hours in the morning to ease congestion at certain routes of the PLUS Expressways in the Klang Valley. The areas affected: * New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) (Shah Alam - Jalan Duta) * North-South Expressway Northern Route (Sungai Buloh - Bukit Lanjan) * Federal Highway Route 2 (Subang - Sungai Rasau)	To ease congestion during peak hours in the morning Monday to Friday (except public holidays) 6:30 am to 9:30 pm
10 August 2010	Officially opening of the Kajang-Seremban Highway	Minister of Works Dato’ Shaziman Hj Abu Mansor Length : 44.3 kilometres Linking Kajang to Seremban
2 September 2010	The Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway and the East Coast Expressway Phase 1 (ECE 1) (both ) will be toll-free from 9pm till 6am on Sept 7, 8, 15 and 16 during Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays.
15 October 2010	The new expressway will be build under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). These include: * West Coast Expressway (WCE) (Taiping - Banting) * Guthrie-Damansara Expressway (GDE) (Elmina - Damansara) * Jelas Expressway (Jelas) (Jelapang - Selama - Batu Kawan) * South Kedah Expressway (Lekas) (Kulim - Bandar Baharu) * Sungai Juru Expressway (SJE) (Sungai Juru - Batu Kawan) * Paroi-Senawang-KLIA Expressway (PSKE) (Paroi - Senawang - KLIA)
7 December 2010	The Jelutong Expressway and Bayan Lepas Expressway (Federal Route ) is renamed Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway	Length: 17.8 kilometres
17 May 2011	The toll collections of the East-West Link Expressway from Salak Interchange to Taman Connaught Interchange is abolished.	Minister of Works Dato’ Shaziman Hj Abu Mansor
10 June 2011	Opening of the Senai-Desaru Expressway Phase 2: Cahaya Baru - Desaru and Sungai Johor Bridge	Minister of Works Dato’ Shaziman Hj Abu Mansor Length: 27 kilometres Bridge length: 4 kilometres
23 June 2011	Opening of the Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor Expressway (KLS) or LATAR Expressway	Minister of Works Dato’ Shaziman Hj Abu Mansor Length: 32 kilometres Linking Ijok to Templer's Park
22 August 2011	Official opening of the East Coast Expressway Phase 2 Jabur - Kuala Terengganu Package 10: Bukit Besi - Ajil Package 11 and 12: Telemong - Kuala Terengganu (Bukit Payung-Telemung Highway: Bukit Payong - Telemong)	Package 10 Length : 42.4 kilometres Package 11 and 12 Length : 9.2 kilometres (Bukit Payong - Telemong Highway Length : 16.5 kilometres)
Upcoming event Late 2011	Opening of the JB Eastern Dispersal Link	Length: 8 kilometres Linking Pandan Interchange to Sultan Iskandar CIQ Building
Upcoming event Late 2011	Opening of the Opening of the South Klang Valley Expressway Section 2: Saujana Putra - Teluk Panglima Garang	Length: 12.9 kilometres Linking Bandar Saujana Putra to Teluk Panglima Garang
Upcoming event Unknown date	The Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) will be introduced to all expressways in Malaysia

See also

• Malaysian Expressway System
• List of Expressways and Highways in Malaysia