Senai–Desaru Expressway

Senai–Desaru Expressway, SDE (Malay: Lebuhraya Senai-Desaru) , is an expressway in Johor, Malaysia. It is also part of the Iskandar Malaysia (formerly Iskandar Development Region). It connects Senai in western Johor to Desaru in eastern Johor. The expressway measures a total length of 77 km (48 mi). With a new crossing over the Johor River, when opened on June 10, 2011, it shortened travel time from Senai to Desaru from 2.5 hours to one hour. Senai–Desaru Expressway is the third east-west-oriented expressway in the Iskandar Malaysia area after the Pasir Gudang Highway and the Pontian-Johor Bahru Link of the Second Link Expressway.

Route background

The Kilometre Zero of the expressway starts at Senai Main Interchange at Senai.

History

Previously, the Johor Bahru-Kota Tinggi Highway (Federal Route ) and Pengerang Highway (Federal Route ) was the only gateway to Desaru, with a typical journey of 2.5 hours. Construction of the expressway began in 2005. The construction is led by Senai-Desaru Expressway Berhad with a main contractor, Ranhill Engineers & Constructors Sdn Bhd. Phase 1 of the expressway linking Senai to Pasir Gudang was opened to traffic on 10 September 2009, with the remaining stretch from Pasir Gudang to Desaru, including the bridge, opened on June 10, 2011.