GEORGE TOWN: The Bayan Lepas Expressway (BLE) will be officially opened to the public at 2pm today.
The flag-off was conducted by Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof this morning.
Present at the ceremony were Public Works Department director-general Datuk Ir Adanan Mohamed Hussain and UEM Builders Bhd (UEM Builders) managing director Mohd Razin Ghazali.
"We expect 70,000 vehicles to use the BLE daily," Fadillah told newsmen.
The BLE project is one of four projects mooted by the federal government to ease the Sultan Abdul Halim Muad'zam Shah Bridge traffic congestion by this year.
Construction of the BLE, which UEM Builders is the main contractor, commenced on Apr 1, 2004, and the scheduled completion date for the elevated structure and special span ended last month.
The entire project is expected to be completed by June this year, at a cost of RM337.72 million.
The entire BLE will be equipped with LED street lighting, drainage system, sewers, bicycle paths and road dividers.