Toll For Smart Motorway To Be Higher Than Usual Rate

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 (Bernama) -- Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu today opened the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) motorway, and said the toll on the road would be higher than that imposed on ordinary highways.
"Taking into consideration the amount of time spent and cost to build this tunnel, we should not come to think that the toll rate will be similar to the one imposed on ordinary highways. It will be higher," he said after opening the motorway with Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid at the Sungai Besi toll plaza here.
Samy Vellu said he had received some suggestions on the toll rate from the SMART management but the government had yet to decide on the quantum.
However, word has it that the toll rate will be around RM4 for the four-kilometre motorway.
The toll rate aside, motorists can use the motorway for free for one month from 3 pm today.
Samy Vellu also said that the government should build more motorway tunnels to help ease traffic congestion in cities and prevent landslides on roads in hilly areas.
"I will ask the Public Works Department to provide a detailed report on how the government can build motorway tunnels in cities and hilly areas," he added.
The SMART motorway serves as a speedy alternative route to the Golden Triangle commercial district via a newly built expansion to Jalan Sultan Ismail and for south-bound motorists entering and exiting the commercial district.
Strategically aligned along the southern gateway, the double-deck motorway acts as an alternative route for the existing Jalan Sungai Besi, with entry and exit points along Jalan Davis and Jalan Tun Razak (near the Kampung Pandan roundabout).
To ensure safety at the RM633-million motorway, there are 24-hour patrols, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, fire-fighting equipment, first aid facilities and emergency phones.
SMART, described as a world's first for dual use, is a twin system, consisting of a stormwater channel and a motorway incorporated into a single infrastructure.
It also incorporates a 9.7-km tunnel built to mitigate the flood problem in the city centre, draining floodwaters to a storage reservoir in Taman Desa near Jalan Klang Lama when the need arises.
Construction of this tunnel began in January 2003 at a cost of RM1.93 billion and is expected to be completed next month.