PETALING JAYA: The Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway (DASH) over 20.1 kilometres from Puncak Perdana to Penchala heading to the federal capital is expected to be opened to the public soon.
Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas) group chief executive officer Datuk Mohammad Azlan Abdullah said the highway costing RM4.2 billion can reduce the travelling time from Puncak Perdana, Shah Alam to Penchala, Kuala Lumpur from 90 minutes to 30 minutes.
He said the highway with a total length of 55.4 km including the junction, has 13 intersections namely Puncak Perdana, Alam Suria, Denai Alam, Kampung Melayu Subang, Pinggiran Subang, Subang 2, Lapagan Terbang Subang, RRIM (Kwasa Damansara), Surian, Section 5 Kota Damansara, Sunway Damansara, Damansara Perdana and Penchala.
"The daily traffic target is 50,000 vehicles per day and it is expected to reduce congestion in Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari (39 per cent), Jalan Sungai Buloh (33 per cent) and Persiaran Surian (43 per cent).
"This highway is expected to be able to solve traffic dispersal in new development areas such as Kwasa Damansara, Elmina and along Shah Alam to Damansara," he said at a media briefing and tour today.
Mohammad Azlan said DASH, which is built 90 per cent elevated and 10 per cent above ground, is linked to Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE), Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) and Penchala Link, West Kuala Lumpur Traffic Dispersal Scheme (SPRINT).
He said it also has three toll plazas namely Denai Alam, RRIM (Kwasa Damansara) and Kota Damansara, two rest areas and two side stops in addition to having a 260-metre long enclosed sound barrier which is the first to be built on a Malaysian highway.
"Uniquely, DASH also has a route network known as Spaghetti Link which is formed when ramps are built in tiers involving existing highways namely LDP, Penchala Link, SPRINT with Penchala intersection," he said.
Construction of the highway began in August 2016 and was completed on Sept 30 2022 while the concession starts on December 25, 2014 until December 24 2069.
It is also equipped with 37 closed-circuit cameras (CCTV), 18 emergency telephones, 30 vehicle incident detection systems (VIDS) and 10 variable message signs (VMS) along the alignment as well as 2,441 light-emitting diode (LED) street lights.--BERNAMA