Sabah State Route SA3

For the original SA3 route, see Malaysia Federal Route 500.

Sabah Route SA3
Tenom–Sipitang Highway
Junction to Kg. Marau, in Sipitang, Sabah.
Route information
Length	71 km (44 mi)
Major junctions
East end	Tenom
Major intersections	FT 500 Federal Route 500 FT 22 (Interior North–South Highway) / FT 500 / FT 501 SA33 Jalan Paal–Kuala Tomani FT 1 Federal Route 1
West end	Sipitang (continues as Pan-Borneo Highway)
Location
Country	Malaysia
Primary destinations	Tenom Keningau Sipitang Beaufort Lawas (continues as Federal Route 1 (Sarawak))
Highway system
Highways in Malaysia Expressways Federal State

State Route SA3 (known as Route A3) was a 71 kilometres (44 mi) state route in Sabah, Malaysia that connects the Tenom area to the Sipitang area. It serves as the main highway to connect most villages in the Interior Division of Sabah to Sipitang, as well as Sarawak. It also serves as a route continues after Federal Route 500.

A little far from the state capital, Kota Kinabalu, it is one of the most remote and rugged highways in Sabah, Malaysia.

Road Section

The highway runs from Tenom to Paal was a 18 kilometres (11 mi) road, passing all estates road nearby plantation managed by SD Guthrie (formerly Sime Darby), similarly, Melalap–Tenom Road section from Federal Route 500. The highway ends at a roundabout where it meets the Paal–Kuala Tomani Highway, near the Paal villages. Then a 53 kilometres (33 mi) road which runs from east to west, traverses the Crocker Range, within the Mount Lumaku forest reserve, as well as two district, Tenom and Sipitang District, summit at 891m (2,923 feet), known as the Tenom Hill Pass or Bukit Layang-Layang by most people in Tenom. It features steep gradient, ranging from 10% to 15%, with some section range only 12% to 14% being the steepest part, making it one of the highly steeper roads in Sabah. Most climbing lanes in this section are half start (approximately 0.6km) and end (also 0.6km), which combined into 1.2km three-lanes climbing lanes. Some segment in the Sipitang District also feature only rolling gradient (up to only 10%, moderately steep) after descending from the high Crocker Range, as well as gravel, pothole and damaged roads around the forest and villages. The highway ends at the Mengalong roundabout, continues as Federal Route 1 of Sabah, which eventually then continues ahead to Federal Route 1 of Sarawak.

For specific section, it was designated under JKR R4 road standard for the 18 kilometres (11 mi) highway, while the west to east highway is both designated under JKR R3 near forest or village in Sipitang district whereas the half of Sipitang and Tenom district was R5, ranging speed limit from 50 to 100km/h. Because of its high elevation, the road will experience fog/mist on high area.

Parts of Sipitang–Tenom Highway, around the Sipitang District featuring rolling gradient, only up to 10%.

Road origins

Original Sabah State Route SA3

Main article: Malaysia Federal Route 500

The State Route SA3 was once a longer state route in Sabah, which is now known as the Federal Route 500 which runs from Kota Kinabalu to Tenom. Only the section between Paal and Tenom retains the state highway code. Generally, some section from Penampang to Tambunan, or Tenom to Keningau still uses the old code, provided by the signboard.

Tenom–Sipitang Highway

The Tenom–Sipitang Highway was once a rugged logging highway, where driver from Tenom will uses the Kimanis–Keningau Highway to Sipitang which is only 183 kilometres (114 mi) long. After the highway was complete, the Tenom–Sipitang Highway was then commissioned as part of Sabah State Route SA3 in 2007, followed by the road from Paal to Kuala Tomani was renumbered as Route SA33.

Junction lists

The entire route is located in Interior Division, Sabah.

Legend:

• I/C - Interchange, I/S - Intersection, RSA - Rest and service area, OBR - Overhead bridge restaurant, R/R - Restaurant and rest plaza, L/B - Layby, V/P - Vista point, TN - tunnel, T/P - Toll plaza, BR - Bridge

• C - Cloverleaf, S - Stack, T-A - Trumpet-A, T-B - Trumpet-B, DT - Directional-T/Y, SDT - Semi-Directional-T/Y, P-Y - Partial-Y, D - Diamond, P-C - Partial cloverleaf, D-D - Diverging diamond, D-R - Direct ramp

District	Location	km	mi	Name	Destinations	Notes
Tenom	Tenom			Tenom Tenom town centre	FT 500 Federal Route 500 – Melalap, Keningau, Tambunan, Kota Kinabalu, Interior North–South Highway – Ranau	Roundabout
				Sungai Padas bridge
				Tenom	Jalan Tenom Ponontomon – Sapong, Paal, Kemabong	Roundabout
				Sapong
				Kg. Paal
				Ulu Paal	SA33 Jalan Paal–Kuala Tomani – Kemabong, Kuala Tomani, Sipitang, Sindumin, Lawas	T-junction
				-- m above sea level Tenom bound, Engage lower gear
				Mount Lumaku Forest Reserve -- m above sea level
Sipitang	Sindumin			-- m above sea level Sipitang bound, Engage lower gear
				Kg. Solob
				Short Tunnel I/S
				Kg. Muaya
				Long Pasia I/S	Long Pasia	Junction
				Melamam		Junction
				Kg. Lubang Buaya
				Mengalong	FT 1 Federal Route 1 – Kota Kinabalu, Beaufort, Sipitang, Sindumin, Lawas	T-junction
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• State Route in Malaysia
• Federal Route 500

Notes

• The state route was not to be confused with the original State Route SA3, from Federal Route 500.
  • Paal–Tenom Highway was also part of Federal Route 500 in the maps for some reason.
  • The highway was also often compared with the Kimanis–Keningau Highways road style, and both roads also has punishing gradient to a vehicle.
• A vehicle was once burned in the Tenom–Sipitang Highway.
• Unlike Kimanis–Keningau Highway and Penampang–Tambunan Highway, this highway doesn't has sub-station or parks on the mountain section despite being in the boundary of Crocker Range Park.

External links

• Malaysian Public Works Department