Cheras–Kajang Expressway

Expressway 7
Cheras–Kajang Expressway
Route information
Maintained by Grand Saga Sdn Bhd
Length:	11.5 km (7.1 mi)
Existed:	1998 – present
History:	Completed in 1999
Major junctions
North end:	Cheras Sentral (Plaza Phoenix) on Cheras Highway, Kuala Lumpur
	Cheras Highway Jalan Balakong Jalan Cheras-Kajang Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway Kajang Bypass
South end:	Saujana Impian Interchange, Kajang, Selangor
Location
Primary destinations:	Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Cheras, Kajang, Semenyih, Seremban
Highway system
Highways in Malaysia Expressways Federal State

The Cheras–Kajang Expressway (CKE, ) (Malay: Lebuhraya Cheras-Kajang), more popularly known as the Grand Saga Expressway, is an expressway in Klang Valley that links the incorporated township of Cheras, Kuala Lumpur to the town of Kajang in Selangor, Malaysia.

Route background

The Kilometre Zero is counted from the Kuala Lumpur city centre, while the expressway begins at Plaza Phoenix in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur as Kilometre 10.

History

The expressway is part of a major expansion of Jalan Cheras (Cheras Road), also known as Federal route , which consisted of a two-lane intercity road between Kajang and Cheras. Construction of the expressway commenced in late 1998 and, at a cost of RM275 million, was completed and began tolling on January 15, 1999.^[1] Having assumed a new name, the "Cheras–Kajang Expressway", and incorporated the mid-length of the original road into the expressway, the expressway consequently bisected Jalan Cheras into two at both ends of the original road: one at Kajang, and the other at Cheras, while remnants of the road's undeveloped routes between remain partially in use.^[2]

The Cheras–Kajang Expressway is among the first eight-lane dual carriageway in Malaysia, stretching from the Connaught Interchange in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur to Saujana Impian in Kajang. The expressway comprises one rest and service area and nine interchanges: "Pasukan Gerakan Am", "Hulu Langat", "Telekom", "Bandar Tun Hussein Onn", "Balakong", "Sungai Long", "Bukit Dukong", "Sungai Balak" and "Saujana Impian". The expressway has receive substantial volumes of traffic to and from linked localities. Between 2003 and 2004 alone, traffic volume increased 4%, with an average of 187,000 vehicles per day utillising the expressway in the financial year of 2004.^[1]

The expressway used to have its its own electronic toll collection system, known as the Saga Tag. On 1 July 2004, however, the Saga Tag was replaced by Touch 'n Go and Smart TAG systems.

Of the RM275 million used to finance the expressway's construction, RM210 million consisted of bonds issued by Grand Saga Sdn Bhd, the expressway's concessionaire, and RM59 million was support loan from the government.^[1] Grand Saga was further provided compensation from the government for revisions of scheduled toll rate hikes. In 2003 and 2004, the government paid RM104.93 million in compensation, exclusive of waiving interest and repayment of the support loan.^[1] The government also extended the expressway's concession by two years to September 18, 2027 in 2002.^[1]

On 2 March 2012, the Kuala Lumpur bound Batu 9 toll plaza and Kajang bound Batu 11 toll plaza of the expressway were abolished by the government due to a strong petition led by Eddie Ng Tien Chee from the Democratic Action Party. This petition is signed by 100,000 residents of the area.

Features

• The elevated Sungai Buloh-Kajang MRT line from Taman Connaught to Sungai Jernih

Controversy

Bandar Mahkota Cheras exit

During the construction of the Bandar Mahkota Cheras, an access road connecting the new township and the Bandar Tun Hussein Onn Interchange EXIT 704 was built by the developer to provide access to Bandar Mahkota Cheras from Cheras - Kajang Expressway and vice versa. However, the link road was closed in January 2006 by Grand Saga under the direction of the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) due to disputes between Grand Saga and the developer of Bandar Mahkota Cheras on compensations since the link road would allow motorists to bypass the Batu 11 toll plaza on the expressway. As a result, residents travelling to Kuala Lumpur are required to enter the expressway via Bandar Sungai Long or vice versa, while having to pay fares for both the Batu 9 and Batu 11 toll plazas.

Following Opposition control of Selangor in the 2008 election, local residents dismantled the barricades, temporarily allowing traffic to and from the township to directly enter and exit the expressway. In an early attempt, Grand Saga forcefully reclosed the road. However, On 27 June 2008, the barrier was torn down once again.

On 4 June 2008, the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) and Grand Saga were ordered to install traffic lights on the junctions of Bandar Mahkota Cheras to ease the traffic flow of the residents. Today, the access road connecting Bandar Mahkota Cheras and Bandar Tun Hussein Onn Interchange is open.

Tolls

The Cheras-Kajang Expressway uses the opened toll systems.

Batu 9 and Batu 11 toll plaza will be fully Electronic Toll Collections (ETC)

As part of an initiative to facilitate faster transaction at the Batu 9 and Batu 11 Toll Plaza, all toll transactions at both toll plazas on the Cheras-Kajang Expressway has now been conducted electronically via Touch 'n Go cards or SmartTAGs starting 13 January 2016.

Toll rates

(Starting 15 October 2015)

Batu 9 toll plaza (Kajang bound)

Class	Type of vehicles	Rate (in Malaysian Ringgit (RM))
0	Motorcycles, bicycles or vehicles with 2 or less wheels	Free
1	Vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels excluding taxis	RM1.30
2	Vehicles with 2 axles and 5 or 6 wheels excluding buses	RM2.60
3	Vehicles with 3 or more axles	RM2.60
4	Taxis	RM0.70
5	Buses	RM1.00

Batu 11 toll plaza (KL bound)

Class	Type of vehicles	Rate (in Malaysian Ringgit (RM))
0	Motorcycles, bicycles or vehicles with 2 or less wheels	Free
1	Vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels excluding taxis	RM1.30
2	Vehicles with 2 axles and 5 or 6 wheels excluding buses	RM2.60
3	Vehicles with 3 or more axles	RM2.60
4	Taxis	RM0.70
5	Buses	RM0.90

Note: Toll charges can only be paid with the Touch 'n Go cards or SmartTAG. Cash payment is not accepted.

(Source: Grand Saga Sdn Bhd))

Interchanges

Legend:

• I/C - interchange, I/S - intersection, RSA - Rest and service area, OBR - overhead bridge restaurant, L/B - layby, V/P - vista point, TN - tunnel, T/P - toll plaza, BR - bridge

km	Exit	Interchange	To	Remarks
			North Cheras Highway Kuala Lumpur Cheras Bandar Tun Razak
Cheras Highway DBKL border limit
Cheras-Kajang Expressway (TnG and TAG ETC only) Start/End of toll expressway Grand Saga border limit
10 --		Cheras Sentral (Plaza Phoenix) Taman Connaught MRT station	Cheras Sental (Plaza Phoenix) Taman Connaught MRT station MRT SBK	Kuala Lumpur bound Taman Connaught MRT Station Under construction
Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur
FT Kuala Lumpur-Selangor border
Selangor Darul Ehsan Hulu Langat district border
		Perhilitan	Perhilitan Taman Cheras Hartamas	South bound
	EXIT 701B	EWLE Exit	West East-West Link Expressway Taman Connaught Bandar Tun Razak Bangsar Petaling Jaya Shah Alam Klang	Tunnel entry to East-West Link Expressway
		Petronas Layby	Petronas	South bound
		Maktab Polis Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysian Police College)	Maktab Polis Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysian Police College)	North bound
	EXIT 701A	PGA Interchange	Northeast Jalan Medan Masria Pasukan Gerakan Am (PGA) Base Taman Cuepacs Taman Cheras Permata Taman Cheras Awana Taman Segar Perdana Taman Bukit Hartamas	Diamond interchange
Batu 9 toll plaza (Kajang bound) TAG TnG TAG BET TnG POS Opened toll system Pay toll (Accepts electronic toll payment (TnG and TAG) only)
		Batu 9 toll plaza		South bound
		P&R Taman Suntex MRT station	P&R Taman Suntex MRT station MRT SBK	Under construction
	EXIT 702	Hulu Langat Interchange	East Jalan Lama Cheras Pekan Batu 9 Cheras Taman Suntex B52 Hulu Langat B52 Sungai Pangsoon B52 Sungai Congkak waterfall B52 Sungai Gabai waterfall B52 Sungai Tekali waterfall	Trumpet interchange
		P&R Sri Raya MRT station	P&R Sri Raya MRT station MRT SBK	Under construction
	EXIT 703	Telekom Interchange	West Jalan Kota Cheras Kota Cheras Taman Damai Jaya Taman Sri Cheras Taman Putri Jaya Taman Legenda Mas Taman Tun Perak Taman Cheras Mas Northeast Jalan Lama Cheras Pekan Batu 9 Cheras B52 Hulu Langat B52 Sungai Pangsoon B52 Sungai Congkak waterfall B52 Sungai Gabai waterfall B52 Sungai Tekali waterfall	Diamond interchange
	EXIT 704	Bandar Tun Hussein Onn Interchange	West LEBUH Utama Tun Hussein Onn Bandar Tun Hussein Onn Cheras Perdana East Persiaran Mahkota Cheras 1 Bandar Mahkota Cheras	Diamond interchange
		P&R Bandar Tun Hussein Onn MRT station	P&R Bandar Tun Hussein Onn MRT station MRT SBK	Under construction
		Batu 11 toll plaza	Grand Saga operation office	North bound
Batu 11 toll plaza (Kuala Lumpur bound) TnG POS TAG BET TnG TAG Opened toll system Pay toll (Accepts electronic toll payment (TnG and TAG) only)
		Sungai Cheras bridge
	EXIT 705	Balakong Interchange	West Jalan Balakong Batu 11 Cheras Balakong Kajang Dispersial Link Expressway Mines Resort City Seri Kembangan Sungai Besi	Half diamond interchange
		Batu 11 Cheras MRT station	Batu 11 Cheras MRT station MRT SBK	Under construction
		Sungai Langat bridge
	EXIT 706	Sungai Long Interchange	East Jalan Sungai Long Bandar Sungai Long Bandar Mahkota Cheras Kajang Dispersial Link Expressway Semenyih Seremban	Half-diamond interchange
		Bukit Dukung Rest and Service Area	BH Petrol	North bound
	EXIT 707	Bukit Dukung Interchange	Southeast Jalan Cheras-Kajang Kampung Bukit Dukung	Interchange
Cheras-Kajang Expressway
Cheras-Kajang Expressway
		Shell and Petronas Layby P&R Bukit Dukung MRT station	Shell Petronas P&R Bukit Dukung MRT station MRT SBK	South bound Bukit Dukung MRT station Under construction
	EXIT 707A	Sungai Balak Interchange	Southwest Kajang Dispersial Link Expressway Sungai Chua Putrajaya Cyberjaya Puchong Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Shah Alam	Expressway trumpet interchange
		Petronas and Petron Layby	Petronas Petron	South bound
		Kajang MRT Depot
	EXIT 708	Saujana Impian Interchange	Jalan Cheras-Kajang North Kampung Bukit Dukung Kampung Sekamat South Kajang town centre B17 Bangi P&R Sungai Jernih MRT Station	Diamond interchange
Cheras-Kajang Expressway (TnG and TAG ETC only) Start/End of expressway Grand Saga border limit
Kajang Bypass JKR border limit
			Southeast Kajang Bypass Saujana Impian Semenyih Kajang-Seremban Highway Seremban Nilai

References

1. Siow Chen Ming. "Corporate: Grand Saga seeks compensation". The Edge. Archived from the original on 2008-05-31. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
2. "Lebuhraya Cheras-Kajang E7" (in Malay). Blog Jalan Raya Malaysia. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

External links

• Official Grand Saga website