Southwest end: Sematan, Sarawak Length 2,083 km | Northeast end: Serudong, Sabah | |
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Countries: Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam Major cities Kuching, Miri, Malaysia, Sibu, Kota Kinabalu, Bintulu | ||
Pan Borneo Highway (Malay: Lebuhraya Pan Borneo), also known as Trans Borneo Highway, is a road network on Borneo Island connecting two Malaysian states, Sabah and Sarawak, with Brunei. The highway is numbered AH150 in the Asian Highway Network and as Malaysia Federal Route 1 in Sarawak. In Sabah, the route numbers given are 1, 13 and 22. The highway is a joint project between both governments which started as soon as the formation of Malaysian Federation in 1963 which comprised Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. The lack of a road network system in Sarawak was the main factor of the construction. The section that connects Sarawak, Sabah, and Brunei is the Lawas–Temburong (Brunei) stretch, completed in 1997. The completion of the stretch made traveling by car from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu possible. However, the government continues to build newer sections to connect rural areas in Sarawak.
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Map of AH150, Malaysia
The length of the entire highway is expected to be about 2,083 kilometres (1,294 mi) for the Malaysian section. As of 2002, about 95.2% (997.18 kilometres or 619.62 miles) of the highway has been completed. The Tenom–Sipitang section, completed in 2006, is the newest segment of the highway. The construction of the final section from Kalabakan to Sepulut is expected to begin in 2008, therefore the entire Pan Borneo Highway is expected to be fully completed within the Ninth Malaysia Plan period. Meanwhile, the Indonesian sections of the Pan Borneo Highway is known as the Trans-Kalimantan Highway. The western route connects the city of Pontianak to Tebedu.
The standards of Pan Borneo Highway
In general, the Pan Borneo Highway uses the same standards used in the Malaysian federal roads. However, the coding system used in the highway is different from other federal roads. The syntax for Pan Borneo Highway codes is xx-yy, where xx is the route number and yy is the section code. For example, 1–32 in Sibu, Sarawak.
The route
The official route for the highway actually begins at Miri, and it continues north towards Brunei, Limbang and Lawas in Sarawak, into Sabah via Sindumin, and onto Sipitang, Beaufort, Papar, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Tawau and ends at Serudong on the Sabah/North Kalimantan border. The highway also extends southwards from Miri towards Bintulu, Sibu and Kuching, and ends at Sematan on the West Kalimantan/Sarawak border.