The 18km highway, of which 40% is elevated, provides an alternative route through and out of the city as it bypasses many of the roads that are usually congested.
The highway is divided into three sections. Section One from Jalan Duta to Sentul. Section Two from Sentul to Greenwood (near Batu Caves) and Section Three from Sentul to Hillview (Ulu Klang).
Thursday saw Section Two, Section Three and part of Section One of the DUKE being opened with the rest of Section One to be opened in March.
There will be three toll plazas at Batu, Ayer Panas and Sentul Pasar.
The seven elevated interchanges will be at Jalan Duta, Jalan Kuching, Sentul Pasar, Setiawangsa, Hillview, Bandar Dalam and Greenwood.
Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed who officiated the opening of the highway said the DUKE was the vital missing link in the current road network in the Klang Valley and would help ease traffic congestion in the inner city.
He said the DUKE took three years to construct and was built at a cost of RM892 million. Land acquisition cost RM255mil.
“Highway users will be exempted from toll payments for one month. The highway will have an open toll system with 46% of the highway being toll-free.”
Mohd Zin said the DUKE was expected to cater to some 120,000 vehicles a day and that toll charges would start at RM2 per car and would only be increased after six years.
He said the highway concessionaire had also agreed to make the agreement public and that it could be viewed at the Works Ministry library from Friday.
Mohd Zin added that the DUKE had also undergone two safety audits, one by the concessionaire’s consultant and one by the Road Unit of the Works Department.
“The results were satisfactory considering the geometric constraints that were faced. It was also important to look into the safety in the context of the landslide at Bukit Antarabangsa.”
On that matter, Mohd Zin said he had submitted an interim report to the Cabinet about the landslide with a full report to be submitted soon.
“Basically what it has shown us is that it was all our creation. We did not respect mother nature.”
