Butterworth–Kulim Expressway

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Expressway 15
Butterworth–Kulim Expressway
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap BKE in red
Route information
Part of AH140
Maintained by PLUS Malaysia Berhad with its subsidiary Projek Lebuhraya Usahasama Berhad (Former concessionaries known as Konsortium Lebuhraya Butterworth-Kulim (KLBK) Sdn Bhd)
Length	17 km (11 mi)
Existed	1994–present
History	Completed in 1996, opened on 15 November 1996
Major junctions
West end	Butterworth, Penang
	Butterworth Outer Ring Road AH140 Butterworth–Seberang Jaya Toll Road AH2 North–South Expressway Northern Route Federal Route 136 Jalan Kulim Hi-Tech AH140 East–West Highway
East end	Lunas, Kedah
Location
Primary destinations	Butterworth, Seberang Jaya, Prai, Permatang Pauh, Lunas, Kulim, Baling
Highway system
Highways in Malaysia Expressways Federal State

Butterworth–Kulim Expressway, BKE, AH140 (Malay: Lebuhraya Butterworth–Kulim), is the only opened toll system's expressway in Penang, Malaysia. The 17 km (11 mi) expressway connects Butterworth, Penang in the west to Lunas, Kedah in the east. It is also a main route to East–West Highway (Federal Route 4) via Baling, Kedah and Gerik, Perak.

Route background[]

The Butterworth–Kulim Expressway E15 is an east–west oriented expressway and concurrents with the Federal Route 4 and Asian Highway Route AH140 along its entire length. The actual starting point of the expressway is counted as Kilometre 5. Many maps have mistakenly labelled the section between Exit 1501 Kubang Sebang Interchange and Butterworth as a part of the E15 expressway; however, it is incorrect as the remaining 5-km section is not maintained by PLUS Malaysia Berhad but rather by Lingkaran Luar Butterworth (Penang) Sdn. Bhd.^[1]

History[]

The construction of BKE started in December 1994 and was completed in September 1996.

KLBK Sdn Bhd[]

Konsortium Lebuhraya Butterworth-Kulim (KLBK) Sdn Bhd, commercially known as Buterworth Kulim Expressway (BKE), a wholly owned subsidiary of PLUS Expressway Berhad ("PLUS Expressways",) has been awarded the concession and contract to construct and operate the highway of dual two-lane carriageway with separate motorcycle tracks and related highway facilities for the 16.78 km highway. The concession period is for 32 years (June 1994 to June 2026, including two years construction period), after which the highway will be transferred to the Government. On 2011, the company was taken over to PLUS Malaysia Berhad and its subsidiary Projek Lebuhraya Usahasama Berhad.

Features[]

• Geographically, the terrain between KM 5.00 (start point) and KM 11.00 is rather flat, passing through paddy field areas. From KM 11.00 to KM 19.00, the terrain is slightly undulating, where cut and fill slopes are common features. The terrain is again flat from KM 19.00 to KM 21.78 (end point), mainly passing through the estates and developing residential areas.
• Geometrically, there are four grades separated interchanges and one at grade interchange along BKE. Moreover, there are nine reinforced concrete bridges (three of those are river bridges, i.e., Sungai Mengkuang, Sungai Kulim and Sungai Karangan, whereas the rest are bridges over local roads or railway track).
• Tuanku Bainun Teachers Training Institute (Institut Perguruan Tuanku Bainun) (IPTB)
• High speed limit 90 km/h
• Four-lane dual carriageway
• SOS emergency phones
• Dedicated motorcycle lane

Tolls[]

The Butterworth–Kulim Expressway using opened toll systems.

Electronic Toll Collections (ETC)[]

As part of an initiative to facilitate faster transaction at the Lunas and Kubang Semang Toll Plazas, all toll transactions at both toll plazas on the Butterworth–Kulim Expressway will be conducted electronically via PLUSMiles, Touch 'n Go cards or SmartTAGs starting 9 September 2015.

myRFID[]

As of Dec'2018, the Kubang Semang Toll Plaza and the Lunas Toll Plaza has myRFID activated on the right lane sharing the same lane with SmartTAG lane. This allows users of myRFID owners to fully utilize these fast lane.

Toll rates[]

Lunas toll plaza[]

Class	Type of vehicles	Rate (in Malaysian Ringgit (RM))
0	Motorcycles	Free
1	Vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels excluding taxis	RM 1.31
2	Vehicles with 2 axles and 5 or 6 wheels excluding buses	RM 3.20
3	Vehicles with 3 or more axles	RM 4.80
4	Taxis	RM 0.80
5	Buses	RM 1.60

Kubang Semang toll plaza[]

Class	Type of vehicles	Rate (in Malaysian Ringgit (RM))
0	Motorcycles	Free
1	Vehicles with 2 axles and 3 or 4 wheels excluding taxis	RM 1.31
2	Vehicles with 2 axles and 5 or 6 wheels excluding buses	RM 3.20
3	Vehicles with 3 or more axles	RM 4.80
4	Taxis	RM 0.80
5	Buses	RM 1.60

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

List of interchanges[]

The Butterworth–Kulim Expressway is a 4-lane dual-carriageway expressway with its speed limit for the entire section is 90 km/h except at Seberang Jaya–Kubang Semang Toll Plaza section and Lunas Toll Plaza–Sungai Seluang section where the speed limit is 60 km/h.

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

State	District	km	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
Through to AH140 Butterworth–Seberang Jaya Toll Road
Penang	Seberang Perai Tengah	5.0	EXIT 1501	Permatang Pauh I/C	Penang State Route P7  Permatang Pauh, Bukit Mertajam
		6.5	T/P	Kubang Semang Toll Plaza	Touch 'n Go SmartTAG SmartTAG Touch 'n Go
			BR	Sungai Kubang Semang bridge
		9.7	EXIT 1503	Permatang Nibong I/C	Jalan Permatang Nibong – Permatang Nibong, Kubang Semang, Penanti
			BR	Railway crossing bridge
		13.2	EXIT 1505	Tasik Mengkuang I/C	Penang State Route P129 – Penanti, Berapit, Tasik Mengkuang Dam
		16.7	RSA	Penanti RSA	Penanti RSA -	Accessible from both directions
Kedah	Kulim	18.5	T/P	Lunas Toll Plaza	Touch 'n Go SmartTAG SmartTAG Touch 'n Go
			BR	Sungai Kulim bridge
		13.2	EXIT 1507	Lunas I/C	Jalan Lunas – Lunas, Kulim, Kuala Ketil
		13.2	EXIT 1508	Sungai Seluang I/S	Jalan Sepakat – Sungai Seluang, Sidam, Padang Serai Jalan Perusahaan – Kulim Industrial Area	Dual 3-way signalised intersection
Through to AH140 East–West Highway

References[]

External links[]

• PLUS Expressways Berhad Archived 2018-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
• Butterworth–Kulim Expressway