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Approved under the 9th Malaysia Plan, the 18km long Rawang Bypass was introduced to alleviate traffic congestion in Rawang town. Apart from a new road, the project involved a trumpet interchange and the upgrading of an existing federal road. Of particular challenge was a 2.7km long elevated bridge that cuts through a pristine forest reserve. Arup’s thinking behind the design and construction approaches were driven by minimising deforestation. A significant highlight of the project was the first time use in Malaysia of the Moveable Scaffolding Systems (MSS) method of construction. The elevated bridge is breath taking and Arup is proud to have been part of it.
Project Summary
50 nos.built using the MSS steel formwork system span segments of 40m
Only 50mwide of site clearing corridor
58mtallest pier height from deck to ground level
Connecting Sungai Choh near Serendah in the north to Templer’s Park south of Rawang town, the Rawang Bypass aims to ease congestion in Rawang town by diverting the main north-south traffic between Serendah and Kuala Lumpur. With this new bypass, travelling time to KL is reduced from two hours to just 30 minutes during peak times.
A scenic forest drive
Arup was the bridge, infrastructure and geotechnical engineer as well as full-time supervision consultant for the project. One of the highlights was the construction of a new 2.7km long elevated section almost level with the tree tops of the surrounding forest reserve of Taman Warisan. Driving at that elevation evinces a feeling of being among the clouds. Frequented by generations of both foreign and domestic nature lovers, Taman Warisan is a natural heritage, home to protected species of flora and fauna including the nearly extinct Giam Kanching trees (Hopea Subalata) found only in this part of the world.
“This major infrastructure project posed significant technical challenges and our team rose to the occasion. ”
Mohd Nazri Geotechnical Engineer
Stepping up to the challenge
Stepping up to the challenge
The need to avoid extensive earthworks and deforestation was fundamental to the choice of construction method. Consequently, Moveable Scaffolding Systems (MSS) was adopted as it required only a narrow corridor for the construction of the bridge piers while the beams and slabs were cast at deck level. MSS provided a quick, reliable and economical solution for construction of the elevated bridge.
Arup worked closely with the MSS turnkey contractor to construct 50 nos. of 40m spans by this method while another 10 spans using pre-stressed T-beams and RC box segments were constructed by means of balanced cantilevers. Due to the hilly terrain, hand-dug caisson foundations were utilised ranging from 1.7m to 6.0m in diameter.
