Expressway 15 | |
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Butterworth-Kulim Expressway | |
[[File: |290px|alt=]] | |
Route information | |
Part of | |
Maintained by PLUS Malaysia Berhad with its subsidiary Projek Lebuhraya Usahasama Berhad (Former concessionaries known as Konsortium Lebuhraya Butterworth-Kulim (KLBK) Sdn Bhd) |
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Length: | 17.0 km (10.6 mi) |
Existed: | 1994 – present |
History: | Completed in 1996, opened on 15 November 1996 |
Major junctions | |
West end: | Butterworth, Penang |
Butterworth Outer Ring Road Butterworth-Seberang Jaya Toll Road North-South Expressway Northern Route Federal Route 136 Jalan Kulim Hi-Tech East-West Highway |
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East end: | Lunas, Kedah |
Location | |
Primary destinations: |
Butterworth, Seberang Jaya, Prai, Permatang Pauh, Lunas, Kulim, Baling |
Highway system | |
Butterworth–Kulim Expressway, BKE, E15 (Malay: Lebuhraya Butterworth-Kulim), Asian Highway Route AH140 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.
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.
The construction of BKE started in December 1994 and was completed in September 1996.
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.