Malaysia Federal Route 55

Federal Route 55 or Jalan Kuala Kubu Bharu–Teranum–Raub (or also as Jalan Pahang in Kuala Kubu Bharu) is a 62-km federal road connecting the states of Selangor and Pahang in Malaysia. It is the first federal road ever being constructed in Pahang.[1] The road connects Kuala Kubu Bharu, Selangor to Teranum near Raub in Pahang (later extended to Raub Indah at south Raub in 2013–2015). It is the main access route to Fraser's Hill.[2]

Federal Route 55
Jalan Kuala Kubu Bharu–Teranum–Raub Jalan Pahang (Kuala Kubu Bharu)
Route information
Length	62.0 km (38.5 mi)
Existed	1887[1]–present
Major junctions
West end	Kuala Kubu Bharu, Selangor
	Federal Route 1 Jalan Bukit Fraser Jalan Bukit Fraser 2 Federal Route 218 Federal Route 8
East end	Raub Indah, Raub, Pahang
Location
Primary destinations	Peretak Fraser's Hill Teranum Bentong Raub
Highway system
Highways in Malaysia Expressways Federal State

Route background

The Kilometre Zero of the Federal Route 55 is located at Kuala Kubu Bharu, Selangor, at its intersection with the Federal Route 1, the main trunk road of the central of Peninsular Malaysia. After passing Kuala Kubu Bharu town centre, it runs along the eastern circumference of the Selangor Dam. Shortly after passing the Selangor Dam, the road becomes winding as it ascends the Titiwangsa Range until its intersection with the uphill road to Fraser's Hill near the Selangor–Pahang state border. Then, the road descends downhill, running in parallel with the Teranum River until its eastern terminus at Teranum where it meets with the Malaysia Federal Route 218.[3]

History

The Federal Route 55 is the earliest federal road ever constructed in Pahang. It was constructed as an 80-mile bridle track from Kuala Kubu Bharu to Kuala Lipis known as the Kuala Kubu–Kuala Lipis Road. In 1915, a road was constructed from Teranum to Bentong, forming the southern pioneer route for the Federal Route 8. The entire roadway was upgraded and paved in 1928 with the specific cost of RM2,004 per mile (or RM1,237 per kilometre), which was considered as the most expensive road project at that time.[1] Portion of the Kuala Kubu–Kuala Lipis Road from Teranum to Raub, together with the road from Teranum to Bentong, would later form a part of the Federal Route 8 before the winding Bentong–Raub old road was bypassed by a new, more straight super two road in conjunction with the opening of FELDA Lurah Bilut.[4] Therefore, the bypassed old road is now re-gazetted as the Federal Route 218.[5]

In 1919, work started on the access road to the hill station from The Gap and by 1922, the hill station named Fraser's Hill was opened to visitors.

During the Malayan Emergency, Sir Henry Gurney, a British High Commissioner in Malaya was assassinated by the Malayan Communist Party terrorists at Mile 56 ½, Kuala Kubu Road on 7 October 1951, on his way to Fraser's Hill.[6] The communist terrorists ambushed his Rolls Royce Silver Wraith and shot him to death. His remains was buried at the Cheras Road Christian Cemetery (now Cheras War Cemetery) at Jalan Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.[6][7] A memorial signboard was later erected by Malaysian Public Works Department at the site of the incident (location: 3.673596,101.747346 ).[8]

At the end of 1990s, a new water dam known as the Sungai Selangor Dam was constructed to cater the increasing water demand in the Klang Valley. During construction of the Sungai Selangor Dam, a 7.7-km super two road was built to replace the existing roadway at the Sungai Selangor Dam construction site. Construction starts on 2001 and was completed in 2003. This road has two bridges, the Sungai Selangor bridge and the Sungai Peretak bridge.[9]

List of junctions and towns

km	Exit	Junctions	To	Remarks
0		Kuala Kubu Bharu Kuala Kubu Road Federal Route Junctions	North Tanjung Malim Slim River Ipoh B44 Sabak Bernam Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) North–South Expressway Northern Route Bukit Kayu Hitam Ipoh Kuala Lumpur Klang West Jalan Stesen Keretapi Kuala Kubu Bharu railway station 🚉 South Rasa Batang Kali Rawang Kuala Lumpur	Junctions
		Kuala Kubu Bharu Rest and Service Area
		Malaysian Road Transport Department (JPJ) district branch office
		Kuala Kubu Bharu Taman Teratai Taman Arif
		Kuala Kubu Bharu Jalan Tun Salleh Ismail	North Jalan Tun Salleh Ismail	T-junctions
		Sungai Kubu bridge
		Kuala Kubu Bharu Jalan Syed Masyor	North Jalan Syed Masyor Hospital Kuala Kubu Bharu Perpustakaan Syed Masahor (Hulu Selangor District Library)	T-junctions
		Masjid Jamek Al-Rahimiah
		Stadium Mini Kuala Kubu Bharu
		Majlis Daerah Hulu Selangor (MDHS) headquarters	Majlis Daerah Hulu Selangor (MDHS) headquarters Monument of Kuala Kubu Tragedy
		Kuala Kubu Bharu Jalan Merdeka	North Jalan Merdeka Town Centre Kuala Kubu Bharu Post Office	T-junctions
		Kuala Kubu Bharu Jalan Ampang Pechah	North Jalan Bukit Kerajaan Government Offices Hulu Selangor District and Land Offices Kuala Kubu Bharu Magistrate Court South B54 Jalan Ampang Pechah Ampang Pechah (Site of the original Kuala Kubu) Rasa Kuala Lumpur Darul Quran Jakim	Junctions
		Hindu Temple
		Kuala Kubu Bharu Jalan Kubu	North Jalan Kubu Town Centre Hulu Selangor District Police Headquarters	T-junctions
		Malaysian Public Works Department (JKR) Hulu Selangor District Headquarters
		Sungai Kubu bridge
		Taman Bukit Bunga
		Sungai Kelempung bridge
		Taman Selesa
		Kuala Kubu Bharu Ranger Office
		Kampung Asam Kumbang ----m above sea level
				Start/End of narrow roads
		Kampung Gerachi ----m above sea level	North Jalan Baru Kampung Gerachi Kampung Gerachi	T-junctions
		Sungai Selangor bridge ----m above sea level
				Start/End of dual carriageway
		Sungai Selangor Dam	Sungai Selangor Dam Splash visitor centre V	T-junctions
				Start/End of dual carriageway
		Sungai Peretak bridge
		Kampung Peretak ----m above sea level	North Jalan Baru Kampung Peretak Kampung Peretak	T-junctions
				Start/End of narrow roads
		Sungai Chilling bridge		Old bridge Historical site
		Sungai Chilling waterfalls ----m above sea level	Sungai Chilling waterfalls Sungai Chilling Fish Sanctuary V
		Sungai Gumut waterfalls ----m above sea level	Sungai Gumut waterfalls Sungai Chilling Fish Sanctuary V
		Sungai Gumut bridge
		Sir Henry Gurney's murder site ----m above sea level	Sir Henry Gurney's murder site	Historical site during Malayan Emergency (1948-1960)
Fraser's Hill The Gap
		The Gap Public Toilet
		The Gap Pedestrian Suspension Bridge
		The Gap Rest House
		The Gap Pedestrian Suspension Bridge
		Fraser's Hill The Gap ----m above sea level	Summit Jalan Bukit Fraser Fraser's Hill	Entry only T-junctions
Selangor Darul Ehsan Hulu Selangor district border
Fraser's Hill The Gap Border Arch Selangor–Pahang border ----m above sea level
Pahang Darul Makmur Raub district border
		The Gap Layby
		Fraser's Hill Jalan Bukit Fraser 2 ----m above sea level	Summit Jalan Bukit Fraser 2	Exit only No entry T-junctions
Fraser's Hill The Gap
		Sungai Teranum bridge ----m above sea level
		Sungai Teranum bridge ----m above sea level
		Kampung Sungai Terong Manis ----m above sea level
		Raub Teranum Jalan Lama Bentong-Raub junctions ----m above sea level	North Raub Benta Kuala Lipis East Kampung Sungai Chetang Sang Lee Bentong	T-junctions
		Taman Seroja ----m above sea level
		Kampung Baharu Teras ----m above sea level
		Raub Raub Indah Federal Route 8 junctions ----m above sea level	North Raub Benta Kuala Lipis South Bentong Karak Kuala Lumpur	T-junctions

References

1. Roads in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Ministry of Works. 2011. p. 16. ISBN 978-967-5399-17-6.
2. Statistik Jalan (Edisi 2013). Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Public Works Department. 2013. pp. 16–64. ISSN 1985-9619.
3. Inventori Rangkaian Jalan Utama Persekutuan Semenanjung Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Ministry of Works. 2009. ISBN 978-983-44278-2-5.
4. "Blog Jalan Raya Malaysia @ Cameron Highlands 2013 Part 1: Jalan Persekutuan 8 (Bentong-Raub)". 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
5. Inventori Rangkaian Jalan Utama Persekutuan Semenanjung Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Ministry of Works. 2009. pp. 470–471. ISBN 978-983-44278-2-5.
6. "Pembunuhan Sir Henry Gurney". Hari Ini Dalam Sejarah (in Malay). National Archives of Malaysia. 1951-10-07. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-09-02.
7. Slain British Officer Bured
8. "Memartabatkan jalan raya melalui tugu peringatan". Blog Jalan Raya Malaysia. 2015-01-26. Retrieved 2015-09-02.
9. Mokhtar Jaafar; et al. "Indeks Kualiti Air (IKA) Sg. Selangor pasca pembinaan Empangan Sg. Selangor" (PDF). Geografia - Malaysian Journal of Society and Space (in Malay) (3): 68–75. Retrieved 1 September 2015.