# Second East–West Highway

Second East–West Highway (Malay: Lebuhraya Timur–Barat Kedua), also known as Simpang Pulai–Kuala Berang Highway, Federal Route 185 and Federal Route 36, is a highway in Peninsular Malaysia which connects Simpang Pulai in Perak to Kuala Jeneris in Terengganu. It overlaps with Federal Route 8 Federal Route 8 between Gua Musang and Sungai Relau. It is notorious for its many sharp corners which increase the risk of road accidents.

## Route background

The Kilometre Zero of the Federal Route 185 is located at Simpang Pulai, Perak, at its junctions with the Federal Route 1, the main trunk road of the central of Peninsular Malaysia and end at Gua Musang town. Meanwhile, section from Chiku to Kuala Telemung regazetted as Federal Route 36 in February 2017.
Federal Route 185 traverses two of Peninsular Malaysia's main mountain ranges, the Titiwangsa Range (Perak–Pahang–Kelantan) and the Pantai Timur Range (Kelantan–Terengganu). Hence, several tourist attractions can be found along the highway include Cameron Highlands, Lojing and the Kenyir Lake.

## History

The highway used to be known as Perak State Route 181 from Simpang Pulai to Pos Slim before being extended eastwards and recommissioned as a federal highway. The construction of the highway began in 2001 and was completed in 2004. Phase 2 was completed at the end of 2010.

### Location of the project

The route runs through the states of Perak, Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu, starting at Simpang Pulai and traversing through the main range at Lojing, then Chiku, before entering Jalan Felda Aring and ending at Kuala Jeneris.

### Project scope of work

The total distance of the road is 313.66 km (194.90 mi), excluding the 41 km existing road from Gua Musang to Chiku, Kelantan. The road is designed to Malaysian Public Works Department (JKR) geometric standard of R3 with a design speed of 50 km/h.
In terms of riding comfort, this R3 standard falls in between the R5 or R6 standard for expressway (typically with a design speed of 80–110 km/h) and R1 or R2 standard such as the winding hilly road (typically with a design speed of 20–30 km/h).
Typically, the road is a two-lane single carriageway with a lane width of 3.5m and shoulder width of 2.5m. Climbing lanes are also provided at certain sections with steep gradient, to assist slow moving vehicles. The project also involves the construction of viaducts, bridges and culverts.
Those who want to go from Simpang Pulai to Kuala Berang/Kuala Berang to Simpang Pulai must go through part of federal route 8.

### Estimated cost

The entire project is estimated to cost RM1.6 billion and divided into 10 packages for implementation.

## Features

FT 185 Lojing Viaduct is the second highest bridge in Malaysia.
At most sections, the Federal Route 185 was built under the JKR R5 road standard, allowing maximum speed limit of up to 90 km/h.
The highway overlaps with T156 Jalan Pengkalan Utama from Kenyir Lake to Kuala Jeneris.
An extension of the highway from Kuala Jeneris to Kuala Telemung bypass is under construction to connect Route FT 185 to LPT 2 and Bukit Payung. In September 2024 Citaglobal Engineering Services Sdn Bhd has secured a RM47.56mil job for construction works for Package 8 of the Simpang Pulai–Gua Musang–Kuala Berang road project from Kampung Jeneris to Kuala Telemong (Phase 2 and 3) in Hulu Terengganu, Terengganu. The project will take 12 months to complete.

## Notable events

* 20 December 2010 – Twenty-seven people, mostly Thai tourist were killed when the double-decked coach bus they were travelling in crashed at the Second East–West Highway of the Perak–Pahang border near Cameron Highlands, Pahang.
* In February 2017, Second East–West Highway section from Chiku to Kuala Berang (Jalan Aring 8 & Jalan Aring 5-Kuala Jeneris) regazetted as FT 36. Meanwhile, section overlaps with D29 at Gua Musang regazetted as FT 185.

## List of junctions and towns

This is a list of junctions and towns along the highway.
| Km | Junctions | To | Remarks |
| FT 185 0 | Simpang Pulai Simpang Pulai Junctions | North FT 1 Ipoh West FT 3150 Jalan Lahat–Simpang Pulai FT 3150 Lahat FT 3150 Pasir Pinji South A8 Batu Gajah FT 1 Gopeng North–South Expressway Northern Route AH2 North–South Expressway Northern Route Alor Star Penang Kuala Lumpur | T-Junctions |
| FT 185 Second East–West Highway (Phase 1) Simpang Pulai–Gua Musang Start/End of highway |||||
| | Simpang Pulai Fire Station | | |
| | Sungai Raya bridge | | |
| | Petronas Layby | | |
| | Simpang Pulai Quarry | | |
| | Simpang Pulai Quarry | | |
| | | | Start/End of four-lane carriageway |
| FT 185 15 | | | |
| | | | Start/End of four-lane carriageway |
| | Viaduct | | |
| Perak Darul Ridzuan Kinta district border |||||
| Perak–Pahang border |||||
| Pahang Darul Makmur Cameron Highlands district border |||||
| Cameron Highlands |||||
| | Cameron Highlands Avant Chocolate | Avant Chocolate | |
| | Cameron Highlands Kampung Raja | | |
| | Cameron Highlands Cameron Highlands (North) Junctions | South FT 59 Cameron Highlands FT 59 Kampung Raja FT 59 Tringkap FT 59 Brinchang FT 59 Tanah Rata FT 59 Tapah FT 102 Sungai Koyan Tourist attractions | T-Junctions |
| Cameron Highlands |||||
| Pahang Darul Makmur Cameron Highlands district border |||||
| Pahang–Kelantan border |||||
| Kelantan Darul Naim Gua Musang district border |||||
| | Pos Sigar | Pos Sigar Orang Asli village | T-junctions |
| | Sungai Pangoi bridge | | |
| | Pos Brooke | Pos Brooke Orang Asli village | T-junctions |
| | Sungai Lojing bridge | | |
| | Pos Mering | Pos Mering Orang Asli village Lojing Highlands | T-junctions |
| | Lojing Viaduct Sungai Chenderoh bridge | | |
| | Lojing | Lojing Highlands | T-junctions |
| | Sungai Berok bridge | | |
| | Kampung Sungkai | | |
| | Ulu Nenggiri Junctions | West FT 484 Jalan Ulu Nenggiri Ulu Nenggiri Kampung Pilting | T-junctions |
| FT 185 Second East–West Highway (Phase 1) Simpang Pulai–Gua Musang |||||
| | Gua Musang Gua Musang Town Junctions | North D29 Jalan Dabong–Gua Musang FT 66 Dabong FT 4 Jeli South FT 8 Kuala Lipis FT 64 Jerantut FT 8 Raub FT 64 Taman Negara | Junctions |
| | Overlaps with FT 8 from Gua Musang–Chiku | see also FT 8 Federal Route 8 |
| | Chiku Chiku Junctions | North FT 8 Kota Bharu FT 8 Kuala Krai | T-junctions |
| FT 36 Second East–West Highway (Phase 2) Gua Musang–Kuala Berang |||||
| FT 36 | Kampung Kabang | | |
| | Sungai Lebir bridge | | |
| | Kampung Lanchang | | |
| Kelantan Darul Naim Gua Musang district border |||||
| Kelantan–Terengganu border |||||
| Terengganu Darul Iman Hulu Terengganu district border |||||
| هولو ترڠݢانو Hulu Terengganu |||||
| Kenyir Lake |||||
| | Sungai Kembur Viaduct | | |
| | TNB Puah Hydroelectric Dam | TNB Puah Hydroelectric Dam | T-junctions |
| | Sungai Kelempai Viaduct | | |
| | Pasir Pulau Viaduct | | |
| | Sungai Purun Viaduct | | |
| | Sungai Jeneris Viaduct | | |
| | Jalan Pengkalan Utama Junctions | South T156 Jalan Pengkalan Utama TNB Pengkalan Gawi Dam Telemung Waterfall | T-junctions |
| | Kenyir Lake Rest and Service Area | | |
| | Kenyir Lake Kenyir Lake Junctions | South Kenyir Lake Pengkalan Gawi (Jetty) Kenyir Lake Resort and Spa Kenyir Lake Visitor Centre V | T-junctions |
| Kenyir Lake |||||
| | Kampung Basung | | |
| | Pelung Junctions | North T151 Jalan Pelung Pelung | T-junctions |
| | Kampung Pasir Duta | | |
| FT 36 Second East–West Highway (Phase 2) Gua Musang–Kuala Berang |||||
| | Kuala Jeneris Kuala Jeneris Junctions | North FT 247 Sungai Tong FT 3 AH18 Setiu FT 3 AH18 Besut South FT 247 Kuala Berang FT 106 Ajil | Junctions |
| | | East Bukit Payung–Telemung Highway FT 14 Kuala Terengganu FT 14 Bukit Payong Telemong East Coast Expressway East Coast Expressway Kuantan Kuala Lumpur | |

## Gallery

* FT185 near its west end in Simpang Pulai, eastbound
* FT185 snakes up through the Titiwangsa Mountains near the border with Pahang, not far from Cameron Highlands
* Lojing Viaduct, Lojing
* The highway near Aring, towards the border with Terengganu. Taken prior to widening.
* The Terengganuan section of FT185, near Kenyir Lake