Malaysia Federal Route 500

Federal Route 500
Within the mountainous area of the highway, named the Sinsuron Pass. Although less congested, almost every section lacks climbing lane as there is only frequent hairpin turn which can make all vehicle slow down behind a lorry.
Route information
Maintained by Malaysian Public Works Department
Length	163.7 km (101.7 mi)
Major junctions
Northwest end	Kota Kinabalu
Major intersections	FT 1 Federal Route 1 FT 501 Jalan Penampang SA2 Jalan Ranau–Tambunan Kimanis–Keningau Highway Interior North–South Highway Tawau–Keningau Highway
Southeast end	Tenom (continues as Tenom–Sipitang Highway)
Location
Country	Malaysia
Primary destinations	Penampang, Tambunan, Keningau, Sook
Highway system
Highways in Malaysia Expressways Federal State

Federal Route 500 (formerly Sabah State Route SA3 or Route A3) is a 163-kilometre (101 mi) federal highway in Sabah, Malaysia, connecting Kota Kinabalu to Tenom. It serves as the main highway from Kota Kinabalu to towns and villages in the Interior Division of Sabah.

While the original Route SA3 is longer, only the section between Kota Kinabalu to Tenom is recommissioned as a federal highway; the section between Tenom to Paal retains its state highway code, while the remaining section from Paal to Kuala Tomani was renumbered as Route SA33, following the completion of Tenom–Sipitang Highway in 2007 which then commissioned as part of Sabah State Route SA3.

Road sections

Pintas Penampang Highway, also called Penampang Bypass, start at Sembulan roundabout as well as a tunnel at the distance.

Federal Route 500 starts from the harbour city of Kota Kinabalu then the Sembulan roundabout, where it then heads to Donggongon for just 8.5 km (5.3 mi), known as Jalan Pintas Penampang. Most roads here are dual carriageway. The highway will also have flyover as road upgrade, alongside the Pan Borneo Highway.

Penampang–Tambunan Highway

Penampang–Tambunan Highway is a 71 kilometres (44 mi) two-lane single carriageway road section, connecting the town of Penampang to Tambunan. Being a mountainous road in the West Coast Division of Sabah, it crosses the Crocker Range at high-altitude, over the summit of 1,716 m (5,630 ft) near Mount Alab, within the boundary of Crocker Range National Park. Being moderately steep, the road gradient ranges from 6% to 10% as the highway features frequencies bend though some section can also hit 15% in Penampang District which are highly steep, as well some parts can view a glimpse of the Kota Kinabalu city and South China Sea. While almost all roads don't feature straight climbs, a traditional climbing lane were also provide, only in Tambunan District near Rafflesia Forest Reserve. The road was formerly a dirt road in 1960s before being upgraded to a two-lane paved single carriageway.

Penampang–Tambunan Highway is one of the five highways in Sabah that crosses the Crocker Range; the Tamparuli–Ranau Highway, Kimanis–Keningau Highway and Sipitang–Tenom Highway are the other three, and the new highway, Interior North–South Highway.

Being the highest road in the state, most rugged mountainous section is prone to landslide. It was also one of the highways in Sabah that was frequently close or upgrade. Along its previous section, will have a flyover as part of the federal highway.

The interior stretch

Main articles: Keningau–Tambunan Highway and Interior North–South Highway

Keningau–Tenom Highway which passes nearby estate and plantation, running parallel between the Crocker Range and Witti Range.

Within the inland area of Interior Division of Sabah, the road features a combination of flat, gently undulating, hilly, and mountainous terrain, runs from Tambunan until Tenom. The highway which runs from Apin-Apin until the main city of Keningau, appears to be straight, with the distance about 18 km (11 mi), making it the straightest highway in Malaysia. The stretch also runs parallel between two mountain range, Crocker Mountains and Trusmadi Range.

List of interchanges

Km	Exit	Interchange	To	Remarks
		Kota Kinabalu Harbour City	Northeast FT 1 Coastal Highway Kota Kinabalu city centre Southwest Tanjung Aru Kota Kinabalu International Airport	Signalised intersection Start/end of dual-carriageway
		Kota Kinabalu Sembulan Roundabout	Jalan Pintas Penampang Northeast Kota Kinabalu city centre FT 501 Jalan Penampang Southwest Jalan Mat Salleh Tanjung Aru	Roundabout
		Tunnel
		Queen Elizabeth Hospital	Queen Elizabeth Hospital	Roundabout
		Taman Waja	Taman Waja	Roundabout
		Kota Kinabalu Jalan Lintas Intersection	Northeast FT 1 Jalan Lintas Inanam Tuaran Kudat Southwest Tanjung Aru Papar Beaufort	Signalised intersection
		Grand Millennium Plaza
		Donggongon	North FT 501 Jalan Penampang Penampang Kota Kinabalu South FT 501 Lok Kawi FT 1 Papar FT 1 Beaufort	Roundabout End/start of dual-carriageway
		Stadium Penampang	Stadium Penampang Majlis Daerah Penampang Sabah Cultural Center	Roundabout
		Kibabaig	North Kibabaig Minintod Inanam Bukit Padang	Roundabout
		Kg. Madasiang
		Kg. Babagon	Babagon Dam	T-junction
		Kg. Moyog
		-- m above sea level		Kota Kinabalu bound, Engage lower gear
		Kipandi Butterfly Park -- m above sea level
			Northeast Jalan Tudan Poring Kiulu	Junction
		Gunung Alab R&R complex		R&R complex Kota Kinabalu bound
		Rafflesia Info Center -- m above sea level		Tambunan bound
		Tambunan Forestry
		Masakob Waterfall
		-- m above sea level		Tambunan bound, Engage lower gear
		Kg. Sinsuron
		Tambunan Tambunan Roundabout	Northeast SA2 Jalan Ranau–Tambunan FT 22 Ranau FT 22 Kundasang FT 22 Sandakan	Roundabout
		Tambunan	Tambunan town centre	Roundabout
		-- m above sea level		Keningau bound, Engage lower gear
		Apin-Apin		Junctions
		Bingkor		Roundabout
		Keningau District Hospital	Keningau District Hospital	Roundabout Start/end of dual-carriageway
		Keningau	Northwest Kimanis–Keningau Highway Crocker Range National Park Kimanis Papar Beaufort Kota Kinabalu	Roundabout
		Keningau Jalan Keningau–Sook	Southeast Tawau–Keningau Highway Sook Nabawan Sapulut Kalabakan Tawau	Signalised T-junction
		Jalan Patikang Ulu	Jalan Patikang Ulu Kimanis	T-junction End/start of dual-carriageway
		Senagang -- m above sea level		Tenom bound, Engage lower gear
		Melalap
		Tenom	Tenom town centre Ponontomon Sabah Agriculture Park	Roundabout
			Southwest SA3 Jalan Tenom–Sipitang Sipitang Sindumin Lawas South SA33 Jalan Paal–Kuala Tomani Kemabong Kuala Tomani

See also

• Kimanis–Keningau Highway