Muar Bypass
# Muar Bypass

Muar Bypass (Malay: Jalan Pintasan Muar), or Federal Route 224, is a major highway bypass and the first highway built in Bandar Maharani Muar, a royal town in Johor, Malaysia. The 13.8 km (8.6 mi) highway bypass linking Parit Bunga in the northwest to Parit Sakai in the southeast. The Kilometre Zero of the Federal Route 224 starts at Parit Sakai junctions.

## History

Between the 1990s and the 2000s, traffic congestion was prevalent at the Sultan Ismail Bridge and Muar town centre since the official opening of the North–South Expressway Southern Route between Ayer Keroh and Pagoh and the opening of the Tangkak and Pagoh Interchange on 1 April 1989. To this end, in 1998, the federal government announced that the new second bridge would be built at Parit Bunga to ease congestion on the existing bridge. In addition, a new bypass linking Parit Bunga to Parit Sakai would be built.

The Public Works Department of Malaysia (JKR) and the main contractor Ranhill Bersekutu Sdn Bhd Co began construction of the bypass in 2002. The second bridge and the bypass were opened to traffic in 2004, while the rest of the project was completed in 2005.

In 2008, the highway was gazetted as the federal roads by JKR as Federal Route 224.

## Project highlights

Construction of a 632-metre landmark single-plane semi harp cable-stayed bridge with a 132-metre mid-span across Muar River and a 13-kilometre road bypassing the town of Muar inclusive of one Parit Bunga Interchange.

This project had two key briefs:-

* to alleviate traffic congestion in the Muar area by constructing a major bypass road with an elevated interchange over the existing junction.
* to design and build a landmark bridge across Muar River.

The project involved Ranhill Bersekutu Sdn Bhd Co undertaking the engineering, design, construction, engineering, and environmental impact assessments and controls. Creativity was the key to the bridge design, with a need for aesthetic as well as functional considerations. With the rapid growth in the region, the bridge is set to become a defining feature of the local landscape, and had to be designed with this level of impact in mind. The result is a spectacular structure that is sympathetic to its surroundings, taking into account various environmental aspects. Use of new technology, combined with the unique method of construction - a cast-in-situ bridge deck segmental box girder – using the traveler formworks has increased ease of construction, minimised use of materials and proved to be cost-effective.

At the same time, the construction of the 13 kilometre bypass road also includes seven grade signalised intersections and five grade unsignalised junctions, cross culverts and drainage, as well as an elevated interchange over the existing junction. Ranhill also conducted a separate traffic study to ensure that the needs of the local community were being fully met.

With construction taking place within a mangrove area, the bridge and the earthworks for the road construction is carefully monitored through a specific government-approved environmental management plan, with the objective of retaining as much of the natural surroundings as possible.

## Features

The main feature of the bypass is the Muar Second Bridge. Other features include a pedestrian bridge and the Parit Bunga complex interchange, which is the first of its kind in Muar. The bypass is a 4-lane carriageway with reserves land for future widening and construction of new interchanges.

At most sections, the Federal Route 224 was built under the JKR R5 road standard, allowing maximum speed limit of up to 90 km/h.

## List of junctions and interchanges

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

| Km | Exit | Interchange/Junctions | To | Remarks |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| FT 224 0 | 11 | Parit Sakai Junctions | FT 5 Jalan Abdul Rahman Northwest FT 5 Bandar Maharani Bandar Diraja (Town Centre) (Royal Town) FT 5 Tanjung Emas Southeast FT 5 Parit Jawa FT 5 Batu Pahat FT 5 Pontian FT 1 Johor Bahru FT 95 Kukup | T-junctions |
| FT 224 Muar Bypass Start/End of Highway |||||
| | 10 | Jalan Temenggong Ahmad Junctions | J31 Jalan Temenggong Ahmad Northwest Bandar Maharani Bandar Diraja (Town Centre) (ROYAL TOWN) Southeast Parit Bakar Parit Jawa Batu Pahat | Junctions |
| | 9 | Jalan Dato' Haji Kosai Junctions | J-- Jalan Dato' Haji Kosai Southeast Parit Bakar Darat Parit Jawa | Junctions |
| | 8 | Simpang Jeram Junctions | FT 24 Jalan Muar–Yong Peng WEST FT 24 Bandar Maharani Bandar Diraja (Town Centre) (Royal Town) East FT 24 Bakri FT 24 Parit Sulong FT 24 Yong Peng | Junctions |
| | | Sungai Abong Bridge Parit Keliling Sungai Abong Bridge | | Start/End of bridge |
| | | Sungai Abong Bridge | | |
| | | Sungai Abong Bridge Parit Keliling Sungai Abong Bridge | | Start/End of bridge |
| | 7 | Sungai Abong Junctions | J-- Jalan Sungai Abong West Sungai Abong Malaysian Road Transport Department (JPJ) district branch office | Junctions |
| | 6 | Kampung Tengah Junctions | J-- Jalan Kampung Tengah Southwest Kampung Tengah Sungai Abong Malaysian Road Transport Department (JPJ) district branch office | Junctions |
| | 5 | Jalan Sungai Abong Baru Junctions | J-- Jalan Sungai Abong Baru South J-- Jalan Sungai Abong Sungai Abong Malaysian Road Transport Department (JPJ) district branch office | Junctions |
| | | BHPetrol Layby | | |
| | | Sungai Runtong bridge | | |
| | 4 | Temiang Junctions | J-- Jalan Utama 1 South Taman Temiang Utama Jalan Kim Kee | Junctions |
| | 3B | Bukit Treh Junctions | West J24 Jalan Salleh J24 Bandar Maharani Bandar Diraja (Town Centre) (Royal Town) East J32 Jalan Muar–Labis J32 Labis J32 Bukit Kepong J32 Pagoh J32 Bukit Pasir Bandar Universiti Pagoh North–South Expressway Southern Route AH2 North–South Expressway Southern Route Kuala Lumpur Melaka Johor Bahru | Junctions |
| | 3A | Jalan Bukit Treh Exit | Jalan Bukit Treh North Kampung Bukit Treh | From Melaka only |
| | 2 | Jalan Ismail Desa Junctions | J60 Jalan Ismail Desa South Jalan Bakariah Medan Ikan Bakar Sabak Awor (Sabak Awor fish grill spot) | Junctions |
| | | Caltex Layby | | |
| | 1 | Bakar Batu Junctions | J62 Jalan Bakar Batu South Jalan Bakariah Medan Ikan Bakar Sabak Awor (Sabak Awor fish grill spot) | Junctions |
| | | Petronas Layby | | Melaka bound |
| | | Sungai Muar bridge Muar Second Bridge 632 m Muar River | | Start/End of bridge |
| موار Muar |||||
| Sungai Muar bridge Muar Second Bridge 632 m Muar River Muar–Tangkak district border |||||
| تڠكق Tangkak |||||
| | 0 | Sungai Muar bridge Muar Second Bridge 632 m Muar River Parit Bunga Interchange | North FT 23 Sungai Mati FT 23 Tangkak FT 23 Jementah FT 23 Segamat J33 Bukit Gambir FT 23 Gunung Ledang North–South Expressway Southern Route AH2 North–South Expressway Southern Route Kuala Lumpur Melaka Johor Bahru South FT 5 Jalan Kesang FT 5 Tanjung Agas FT 5 Bandar Maharani Bandar Diraja (Town Centre) (Royal Town) | Half-diamond interchange with ramp to Tangkak Start/End of bridge |
| FT 224 Muar Bypass |||||
| FT 5 FT 19 Lebuh AMJ |||||
| | | | Northwest FT 19 FT 5 Lebuh AMJ FT 19 Melaka FT 144 Merlimau FT 144 Jasin | Continued to original route FT 5 |
