Penang Bridge


The Penang Bridge is a dual carriageway toll bridge and controlled-access highway in the state of Penang, Malaysia. The bridge connects Perai on the mainland side of the state with Gelugor on the island, crossing the Penang Strait. The bridge was the first and, until 2014, the only road connection between the peninsula and the island. The bridge is the second-longest bridge in Malaysia and the fifth-longest in Southeast Asia by total length, with a length over water of.
The bridge was inaugurated on 14 September 1985. The current concession holder and maintainer of the bridge is PLUS Expressways. Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd was the concession holder before it was merged with the current concessionaire.

History

Planning

Before 1985, transportation between the island and the mainland was dependent solely on the state-owned Penang Ferry Service that runs between Butterworth and George Town.
In the early 1970s, the idea to build a bridge linking Seberang Perai to Penang Island was suggested by the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Abdul Razak and the 2nd Chief Minister of Penang Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu.
At the end of 1971, the Malaysian government appointed Christiani & Nielsen of Denmark to carry out a feasibility study.
In the year 1976, the Penang Bridge was planned during the term of 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia's Tun Hussein Onn.
In November 1976, Howard Needles Tammen & Bergendorf of the United States in association with Jurutera Konsultant Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia was appointed to design and supervise the construction of the bridge.
On 23 July 1981, the Works Minister of Malaysia Dato Seri Samy Vellu announced that the Penang Bridge would be constructed using the cable-stayed concrete girder of the Golden Gate Bridge instead of the steel-tied arch used in the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Construction

In 1982, the construction of Penang Bridge officially began. The bridge was constructed by the Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company Ltd from South Korea and the United Engineers Malaysia Berhad. Two man-made islets at South Channel were created for the construction of the cable-stayed bridge and the Gelugor coastline was reclaimed into a cape for the construction of the Gelugor interchange.

Opening

On 3 August 1985, the Penang Bridge was officially opened by the then 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad. He drove across the bridge in a red Proton Saga, carrying the national flag to officiate the opening ceremony. On 14 September 1985, the Penang Bridge was officially opened to traffic by the fourth Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang, Tun Dr. Awang Hassan.

Penang Bridge Widening Project

When the bridge was initially constructed, the central span had six lanes, while the rest of the bridge had four lanes. The project to widen the entire bridge to six lanes began on January 2008 and was completed in late 2009.

Features

Penang Bridge has an overall length of : above water, on Penang Island and in Prai. The 225 m main span is 33 m above water, held up by four 101.5 m towers. The carriageway has 3 lanes in each direction and a speed limit of 80 km/h.
The bridge has an emergency layby equipped with SOS phone. Traffic CCTV and Variable Message Sign are installed at all locations along the bridge. The bridge carries a Tenaga Nasional 132kV power cable.

Tolls

Since 1985, the Penang Bridge has been a tolled bridge. Fees are charged one way, when entering the bridge from the mainland and travelling towards Penang Island. There are no fees imposed for mainland-bound motorists coming from the island. Since 1994, the tolls have been collected by a private concession company, Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd, which has become a member company of PLUS Malaysia Berhad.
As part of an initiative to facilitate faster transactions at the Perai Toll Plaza, all toll transactions at this toll plaza on the Penang Bridge have been exclusively conducted via electronic toll collection with the use of Touch 'n Go cards and SmartTAGs since 9 September 2015.

Junction list

Commemorative events

Commemorative postage stamps to mark the opening of the Penang Bridge on 1985 were issued by the then Malaysian Postal Services Department on 15 September 1985. The denominations for these stamps were 20 sen, 40 sen, and RM 1.00.

Incidents and accidents

Over the years in its operation, the bridge has been a frequent spot for road accidents and suicides.
On 20 January 2019, two cars travelling mainland bound collided and one plunged into the Malacca Strait as a result. A search operation was launched for the submerged car and the victim was later found dead.