SMART Tunnel

Stormwater Management And Road Tunnel
	Southbound upper deck of the SMART Tunnel
Overview
Location	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Status	Operational
Route	E38
Start	Jalan Tun Razak on Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1
End	Sungai Besi Airport on Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway
Operation
Work begun	2003
Constructed	Gamuda Berhad; MMC Corporation Berhad
Opened	2007
Owner	Government of Malaysia; Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM); (JPS)
Operator	Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir dan Terowong Sdn Bhd (SMART)
Toll	Private cars and taxis
Technical
Length	4 km (2.5 mi)
No. of lanes	4, double-decked
Operating speed	60 km/h

Expressway 38
Expressway 38
Stormwater Management And Road Tunnel; (SMART Tunnel); Terowong Jalan dan Pengurusan Air Banjir (Terowong SMART)
	East Kuala Lumpur map with the SMART Tunnel
Route information
	Maintained by Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir dan Terowong Sdn Bhd (SMART)
Length	4 km (2.5 mi)
Existed	2003–present
History	Construction works started November 2003, and were completed in 2007
Major junctions
North end	Sultan Ismail–Kampung Pandan Link; Jalan Tun Razak
	Sultan Ismail–Kampung Pandan Link; Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1 (Jalan Tun Razak); Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway; East–West Link Expressway
South end	SMART Tunnel toll plaza near Sungai Besi Airport
Location
Primary; destinations	Bukit Bintang; ; Cheras; Petaling Jaya; Seremban
Highway system
	Highways in Malaysia; Expressways; Federal; State;

The Stormwater Management And Road Tunnel (SMART Tunnel), E38, is a storm drainage and road structure in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and a major national project in the country. The 9.7 km (6.0 mi) tunnel is the longest stormwater drainage tunnel in Southeast Asia and second longest in Asia.

The main objective of this tunnel is to solve the problem of flash floods in Kuala Lumpur and also to reduce traffic jams along Jalan Sungai Besi and Loke Yew flyover at Pudu during rush hour. There are two components of this tunnel, the stormwater tunnel and motorway tunnel. It is the longest multi-purpose tunnel in the world.

In 2011, the SMART tunnel received the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Award for its innovative and unique management of storm water and peak hour traffic.

It begins at lake near Klang River at Ampang and ends at Taman Desa lake near Kerayong River at Salak South. The project is led by the government, including Malaysian Highway Authority (Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia, LLM) and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia (Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran, JPS) and also a company joint venture pact between Gamuda Berhad and Malaysian Mining Corporation Berhad (MMC).

Route background[]

The Kilometre Zero of the tunnel is located at Salak Interchange.

History[]

In 2001 the Government sought proposals for a solution that would allow a typical flood of three to six hours' duration to occur without flooding the city centre.^[1] A tunnel that would allow floods to bypass the centre was one way of achieving this, providing it was coupled with temporary storage facilities to keep flows downstream of Kuala Lumpur within the capacity of the river channel. A group led by Gamuda engaged SSP, a large Malaysian consultant engineering firm, and Mott MacDonald UK to develop proposals for a tunnel with holding ponds at upstream and downstream ends of the tunnel.

Construction of the tunnel began on 25 November 2003. Two Herrenknecht Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) from Germany were used, including Tuah on north side and Gemilang on south side. Gusztáv Klados was the senior project manager of the project.^[2]

On 11 December 2003, the 13.2-m diameter Mixshield TBM, Tuah, completed a 737-m section after 24 weeks of excavation. By the end of January 2004, Tuah would start a second drive covering a distance of 4.5 km to Kampung Berembang lake. The motorway sections on the SMART system was officially opened at 3:00PM, 14 May 2007, after multiple delays.^[3]^[4]

Meanwhile, the stormwater sections on the SMART system began operations at the end of January 2007.

By 18 July 2010 the SMART system had prevented seven potentially disastrous flash floods in the city centre,^[5] having entered its first mode 3 operation only weeks after the opening of the motorway.^[6]

As of September 2020, the tunnel had activated its fourth mode for the seventh time. During the flash flood on 10 September 2020, the tunnel diverted three million cubic metres of water.^[7]^[8]

Functioning[]

The four modes of operation and storage capacity.

The first mode, under normal conditions where there is no storm, no flood water will be diverted into the system. When the second mode is activated, flood water is diverted into the bypass tunnel underneath the motorway tunnel. The motorway section is still open to traffic at this stage. When the third mode is in operation, the motorway will be closed to all traffic. After making sure all vehicles have exited the motorway, automated water-tight gates will be opened to allow flood waters to pass through. After the flood has ended, the tunnel is verified and cleaned via pressure-washing, and the motorway will be reopened to traffic within 48 hours of closure.^[9]

Technical specifications[]

SMART tunnel entrance along Jalan Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Stormwater tunnel[]

Construction cost: RM1,887 million (US$514.6 million)
Stormwater tunnel length: 9.7 km (6.0 mi)
Diameter: 13.2 m (43.3 ft) (outer diameter)
Tunnelling method: Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)
TBM type: Slurry shield

Motorway tunnel[]

Motorway tunnel length: 4 km (2.5 mi)
Structure type: Double Deck
Ingress and egress: 1.5 km (0.93 mi) at Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Imbi
Length: 1.4 km (0.87 mi) at Jalan Tun Razak
Links: 1.6 km (0.99 mi) at Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway Links: City Centre near Kg. Pandan Roundabout KL–Seremban Expressway near Sungai Besi Airport

Features[]

The north bound entrance of SMART Tunnel on the Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway.

World's First Dual-Function Tunnel (Stormwater Management & Road)
Longest tunnel in Malaysia
9.7 km (6.03 miles) stormwater by-pass tunnel
4 km (2.49 miles) double-deck motorway within stormwater tunnel
The motorway tunnel is suitable for light vehicles only. Motorcycles and heavy vehicles are not allowed
Ingress and egress connections to the motorway tunnel linking the southern gateway to the city centre
Holding basin complete with diversion and tunnel intake structures
Storage reservoir and a twin-box culvert to release flood discharge
State-of-the-art operations control room equipped with the latest systems in operations management, surveillance and maintenance of the SMART system.
Custom-made fire engine units consisting of two modified Toyota Hilux pickup trucks, parked at two different locations for quick access to the tunnel in case of fire on both carriageways.^[10]

Tolls[]

The SMART Tunnel motorway using opened toll systems. All toll transactions at this toll plaza is only allowed with Touch 'n Go cards or SmartTAG.

Toll rates[]

Class	Type of vehicles	Rate (in Malaysian ringgit (RM))	Notes
1	Private Cars (Vehicles with two axles and three or four wheels (excluding taxis))	RM 3.00
4	Taxis	RM 3.00	Toll charges are paid by passengers using Touch 'n Go only.

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

FM radio channels available[]

Radio	Frequencies
Nasional FM	87.7 MHz
KL FM	97.2 MHz
Radio Klasik FM	95.3 MHz
Hot FM	97.6 MHz
Fly FM	95.8 MHz
hitz.fm	92.9 MHz
Traxx FM	90.3 MHz
BFM 89.9	89.9 MHz
Era FM	103.3 MHz

List of interchanges[]

The entire expressway had its speed limit of 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

From/to E37 East–West Link Expressway[]

km	Interchange	To	Remarks
0		East–West Link Expressway Southeast Cheras Northwest Petaling Jaya Shah Alam	Direction Y junctions
Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway ANIH Berhad border limit
SMART Tunnel (Touch 'n Go* and SmartTAG ETC only)* SMART border limit
	SMART Tunnel operation office	TnG TAG Customer Service Centre SMART Tunnel operation office	South bound on Cheras, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam stretches only
SMART toll plaza			Accepts electronic toll payment (Touch 'n Go and SmartTAG only)
Motorway Tunnel Dry sections Start/End of tunnel Maximum height 2 m Speed limit 60 km/h
			From/To Motorway tunnel

From/to E37 Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway[]

km	To	Remarks
	South Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway Kompleks Sukan Negara Klang North–South Expressway Southern Route AH2 Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) AH2 Seremban AH2 Melaka AH2 Johor Bahru
Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway ANIH Berhad border limit
SMART Tunnel (Touch 'n Go* and SmartTAG ETC only)* SMART border limit
0
SMART toll plaza		Accepts electronic toll payment (Touch 'n Go and SmartTAG only)
Motorway Tunnel Dry sections Start/End of tunnel Maximum height 2 m Speed limit 60 km/h
		From/To Motorway tunnel

Motorway tunnel[]

km	Exit	Interchange	To	Remarks
Motorway Tunnel Dry sections Start/End of tunnel Maximum height 2 m Speed limit 60 km/h
	EXIT 3801	Motorway Tunnel Dry sections Tunnel exit south bound	EXIT 3801A SMART Tunnel Operation Office East–West Link Expressway Cheras Petaling Jaya Shah Alam EXIT 3801B Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway Kompleks Sukan Negara Klang North–South Expressway Southern Route AH2 Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) AH2 Seremban AH2 Melaka AH2 Johor Bahru	Tunnel Interchange
Motorway Tunnel Conversion from dry to wet
		Motorway Tunnel Wet sections
Motorway Tunnel Conversion from wet to dry
	EXIT 3802	Motorway Tunnel Dry sections Tunnel exit north bound	EXIT 3802A Sultan Ismail Link Tunnel Jalan Davis Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road Jalan Imbi Jalan Sultan Ismail Jalan Bukit Bintang EXIT 3802B Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1 Jalan Tun Razak (Jalan Pekeliling) Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Ampang	Tunnel Interchange Lower floor
Motorway Tunnel Dry sections Start/End of tunnel Maximum height 2 m Speed limit 60 km/h
SMART Tunnel Start/End of expressway (Touch 'n Go* and SmartTAG ETC only)* SMART border limit
Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1 DBKL border limit
			North Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1 Jalan Tun Razak (Jalan Pekeliling) Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Ampang

Sultan Ismail link tunnel[]

km	Exit	Interchange	To	Remarks
	EXIT 3802	Sultan Ismail link tunnel Dry sections Tunnel entry south bound	Motorway Tunnel Cheras Petaling Jaya Kompleks Sukan Negara AH2 Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) AH2 Seremban AH2 Melaka AH2 Johor Bahru	Tunnel Interchange Upper floor
Motorway Tunnel Dry sections Start/End of tunnel Maximum height 2 m Speed limit 60 km/h
SMART Tunnel Start/End of expressway (Touch 'n Go* and SmartTAG ETC only)* SMART border limit
Jalan Davis DBKL border limit
			NorthWest Sultan Ismail–Kampung Pandan Link (Jalan Davis) Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road Jalan Imbi Jalan Sultan Ismail Jalan Bukit Bintang

Tunnel in popular culture[]

The SMART Tunnel was featured in an episode of Extreme Engineering on the Discovery Channel.
The SMART Tunnel was featured in an episode of on the National Geographic Channel and TV1.
The SMART Tunnel was featured in an episode of on the Science Channel.
The SMART Tunnel was featured in an episode of Megastructures on the National Geographic Channel and TV1.
The SMART Tunnel was featured in episode 2, Season 1, of Build It Bigger on the Science Channel.

References[]

^ "A Dual-Purpose Tunnel, Ingenia 30, March 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
^ THE ROLE OF GUSZTÁV KLADOS
^ Utusan Malaysia Online - Berita Utama
^ Malaysian National News Agency :: BERNAMA Archived 19 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
^ New Straits Times: Smart tunnel working well
^ MegaStructures SMART tunnel episode
^ YING, VEENA BABULAL and TEOH PEI (12 September 2020). "KL flash flood: 'Smart Tunnel mitigated situation' | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
^ "SMART Tunnel reopened to traffic | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
^ Success of Kuala Lumpur's dual purpose tunnel. ITS International. Online at http://www.itsinternational.com/categories/detection-monitoring-machine-vision/features/success-of-kuala-lumpurs-dual-purpose-tunnel/
^ Custom-Built Fire Engines for SMART Highway Delivered to the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department Archived 4 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine - from SMART Tunnel official website

External links[]

[1] "A Dual-Purpose Tunnel, Ingenia 30, March 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2012.

[2] THE ROLE OF GUSZTÁV KLADOS

[3] Utusan Malaysia Online - Berita Utama

[4] Malaysian National News Agency :: BERNAMA Archived 19 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine

[5] New Straits Times: Smart tunnel working well

[6] MegaStructures SMART tunnel episode

[7] YING, VEENA BABULAL and TEOH PEI (12 September 2020). "KL flash flood: 'Smart Tunnel mitigated situation' | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 15 September 2020.

[8] "SMART Tunnel reopened to traffic | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 15 September 2020.

[9] Success of Kuala Lumpur's dual purpose tunnel. ITS International. Online at http://www.itsinternational.com/categories/detection-monitoring-machine-vision/features/success-of-kuala-lumpurs-dual-purpose-tunnel/

[bomba-10] Custom-Built Fire Engines for SMART Highway Delivered to the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department Archived 4 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine - from SMART Tunnel official website

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hide v t Malaysian Expressway System
Interstate	North–South (northern) North–South (southern) Central Link Kuala Lumpur–Karak East Coast Kajang–Seremban # West Coast ^ Paroi–Senawang–KLIA ^ Jelas ^ Perlis–Langkawi Bridge
Greater Kuala Lumpur/ Klang Valley and Selangor	New Klang Valley Shah Alam Cheras–Kajang Sungai Besi New Pantai Damansara–Puchong Ampang–Kuala Lumpur Kemuning–Shah Alam Kajang Dispersal Link # Sungai Besi–Ulu Klang Maju Sprint Kuala Lumpur–Kuala Selangor South Klang Valley # East Klang Valley New North Klang Straits Bypass # Damansara–Shah Alam Duta–Ulu Klang Guthrie Corridor East–West Link Kuala Lumpur–Seremban SMART Tunnel # ^ Serdang–Kinrara–Putrajaya * Kinrara–Damansara *
Greater Penang	Butterworth–Kulim Butterworth Outer Ring Second Bridge Penang Bridge * Penang Outer Ring * Penang Undersea Tunnel
Johor	Second Link Eastern Dispersal Link Senai–Desaru ^ Johor Bahru–Pasir Gudang
Elsewhere	Seremban–Port Dickson ^ Malacca Strait Bridge ^ South Kedah
#: under construction, ^: planned, *: cancelled/postponed/on hold

SMART Tunnel

Contents

Route background[]

History[]

Functioning[]

Technical specifications[]

Stormwater tunnel[]

Motorway tunnel[]

Features[]

Tolls[]

Toll rates[]

FM radio channels available[]

List of interchanges[]

From/to E37 East–West Link Expressway[]

From/to E37 Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway[]

Motorway tunnel[]

Sultan Ismail link tunnel[]

Tunnel in popular culture[]

See also[]

References[]

External links[]