With this new extension, travel time to Desaru and Tg Balau is cut significantly .. by at least 45 mins travel time by my estimates. No more messy Kota Tinggi road! It would also mean a direct route for Singaporeans to travel from Second Link.
The new segment is actually a single carriageway, dual direction with room for expansion. So users may be surprised that it is a tolled highway but it doesn't look like one
The idea is that once traffic volume hits a certain threshold, the Concessionaires will build a dual carriageway. The route is very scenic, passing by prawn farms and the water catchment area for Johor. Interestingly enough, this highway has a first-in-Malaysia feature of having a special drainage for chemical run-off in the event of accidents involving toxic chemicals or contents. This is to prevent it from leaching into the ground and affecting the water catchment.
The highlight must be the as-yet-unnamed bridge. It is a single plane cable stay bridge comprising of both composite and concrete decks. It is the longest bridge over a river in Peninsular @ 1.8kms and its midspan is actually double the length of Penang Bridge. Very nice.
With the opening of this bridge (after 4 years of delay!), I suspect Desaru and its surrounds will get a huge kick in visitors.
Wait for the official opening! Will appear in MSM NT 5.12.
[/url]Bridge over Sungai Johor
Desaru public beach
Tg Balau public beach
