SMART is an acronym for Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel, a project under the Federal Government initiated to alleviate the flooding problem in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. The project is implemented through a joint venture pact between MMC Berhad and Gamuda Berhad with the Department of Irrigation And Drainage Malaysia and the Malaysian Highway Authority as the executing government agencies. The SMART system will be able to divert large volumes of flood water from entering this critical stretch via a holding pond, bypass tunnel and storage reservoir. This will reduce the flood water level at the Jalan Tun Perak Bridge, preventing spillover. The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) project was incepted by the project proponent, namely MMC Berhad-Gamuda Berhad Joint Venture, primarily to mitigate the recurring floods in the city of Kuala Lumpur, the financial, business and commercial hub of Malaysia. However, at the design stage of SMART, the dual purpose concept was born from the ingenuity of the project proponents and the motorway tunnel was integrated into the system to relieve traffic congestion at the main Southern Gateway to the city centre. The motorway tunnel will provide an alternative route for motorists from the Southern Gateway, i.e. KL-Seremban Highway, Federal Highway, Besraya and East-West Link entering and exiting the city centre. This will reduce traffic congestion at the Southern Gateway leading to the city centre. The travel time will be reduced significantly. For example from the Jalan Istana Interchange-Kampung Pandan the expected travel time is a mere four minutes compared to ten to fifteen minutes using the existing roads The total project cost of the SMART Tunnel is about RM 1.9 billion.
Two Mixshields - "Tuah" and "Gemilang" have been tunnelling since the summer of 2004 from just one launch shaft through varying geological conditions such as limestone, marble and sand. "Gemilang" reached its target after 3.968 kilometers in April 2006, "Tuah" had to continue tunnelling till April 2007 to complete its stretch of 5.372 kilometers. Both 3km long road decks were opened for traffic on 15 May 2007. The official opening of the overall 9.7 kilometer long stormwater-tunnel occured one month later.
External Links SMART website
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