Penang Bridge

The Penang Bridge Penang Bridge is a 13.5-kilometre (8.4-mile)[2][3] 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 over water in Malaysia, with a length over water of 8.4 kilometres (5.2 miles).[3]

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Expressway 36
Penang Bridge
Jambatan Pulau Pinang
Penang Bridge in red
Route information
Length13.5 km (8.4 mi)
Existed1970's–present
HistoryOpened 3 August 1985, inaugurated 14 September 1985[1]
Major junctions
East end North–South Expressway Northern Route North–South Expressway Northern Route and FT 3112 Jalan Perusahan Perai at Perai, Seberang Perai
West end FT 3113 Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway and FT 6 Gelugor Highway at Gelugor, Penang Island
Location
CountryMalaysia
Primary
destinations		George Town, Bayan Lepas, Perai, Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam
Highway system
Penang Bridge
Coordinates5°21′14″N 100°21′09″E
CarriesMotor vehicles
CrossesPenang Strait, Malaysia
LocalePenang
Official namePenang Bridge
Maintained byPLUS Expressways
Characteristics
Designcable-stayed bridge
box girder bridge
Total length13.5 km (8.4 mi)
Width--
Longest span225 m
History
DesignerPrimary
Government of Malaysia
Malaysian Highway Authority

Secondary
South Korea Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company (Korea) Ltd
United Engineers Malaysia Berhad
Constructed by
Multiple
Construction start1982[1]
Construction end1985[1]
Opened3 August 1985
Inaugurated14 September 1985[1]
Statistics
TollDepends on vehicle type (island-bound only)
Location

The bridge was inaugurated on 14 September 1985.[1] 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
Night view of Penang Bridge.
Penang Bridge main span viewed from the deck. Note that the pairs of towers across the deck are not connected above deck level, unlike in many other cable-stayed or suspension bridges with 2 planes of cables.

Chronology
DateEvent
Early 1970sThe idea to build a bridge linking Seberang Perai to Penang Island was suggested by the late Tun Abdul Razak, the second Prime Minister of Malaysia and the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, the second Chief Minister of Penang.
Late 1970sPenang Bridge was planned during the term of third Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn.
23 July 1981Works Minister, S. Samy Vellu announced that Penang Bridge, Penang would be constructed using the cable-stayed concrete girder of the San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge instead of the steel-tied arch in the style of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
1982Construction of Penang Bridge officially began
3 August 1985Official opening of Penang Bridge by fourth Prime Minister, Dato Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
14 September 1985Penang Bridge is officially opened to traffic.

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 in January 2008 and was completed in late 2009.

Features

Penang Bridge has an overall length of 13.5 km (8.4 mi): 8.4 km (5.2 mi) above water, 1.5 km (0.93 mi) on Penang Island and 3.6 km (2.2 mi) 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 70–80 km/h.[4]

The bridge has an emergency layby equipped with SOS phone. Traffic CCTV and Variable Message Sign (VMS) are installed at all locations along the bridge. The bridge carries a Tenaga Nasional 132kV power cable.

Tolls
Entering Plaza Tol Perai Plaza A

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. Toll for motorcyclists was abolished from 1 January 2019.[5]

Electronic toll collection

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.

Toll rates
ClassType of vehiclesCash
(Rate in Malaysian Ringgit (RM))
1MotorcyclesFree (Starting in January 2019)
2Motorcycles with sidecars, cars including station wagons and commercial vehicles on three wheelsRM 5.74
3Lorries and vans with two axles and four wheelsRM 12.00
Buses with two axles and four wheelsRM 9.84
4Lorries, vans and buses with two axles and five or six wheelsRM 25.00
Buses with two axles and five or six wheelsRM 20.50
5Vehicles with three axlesRM 45.00
Buses with three axlesRM 36.90
6Vehicles with four axlesRM 60.00
7Vehicles with five and more axlesRM 75.00

List of interchange
kmExitInterchangeToRemarks
North–South Expressway Northern Route AH2 North-South Expressway Northern Route

North
Alor Setar
Permatang Pauh
Seberang Jaya
North–South Expressway Northern Route AH2 North-South Expressway Northern Route
Penang Bridge AH2 Penang Bridge
(Tun Hussein Onn Highway)
Penang Bridge
0		Perai InterchangeNorthwest
Butterworth Outer Ring Road FT 1 Butterworth Outer Ring Road
FT 1 Perai
FT 1 Butterworth

Southeast
FT 1 Butterworth-Kulim Highway
FT 1 Bukit Mertajam		Parcelo cloverleaf interchange
Railway crossing bridge
3601A
3601B		Penang Bridge Interchange3601A
North–South Expressway Northern Route AH2 North-South Expressway Northern Route

South
Kuala Lumpur
Ipoh
Bukit Tambun


3601B
FT 3112 Jalan Perusahan Perai

Northwest
Perai Industrial Area

Southeast
Juru		3601A
Stacked expressway interchange

3601B
Cloverleaf interchange
Penang Bridge AH2 Penang Bridge
(Tun Hussein Onn Highway)
Penang Bridge Penang Bridge
U-TurnU-TURN
Penang Bridge Tun Hussein Onn Highway
Perai
Butterworth

TnG TAG
Customer Service Centre
Perai toll plaza (PLAZA A)
(Enter bridge only)
PBSB

SmartTAG Touch 'n Go TnG POS MyRFID
Opened toll system
Pay toll
Light and heavy vehicles only
Perai toll plaza (PLAZA B)
(Enter bridge only)
PBSB

SmartTAG Touch 'n Go TnG POS MyRFID
Opened toll system
Pay toll
Light and heavy vehicles only
Perai toll plaza
PBSB		 TnG TAG
Customer Service Centre		Enter bridge only
U-TurnU-TURN
Penang Bridge Penang Bridge
George Town
Bayan Lepas

TnG TAG
Customer Service Centre
Penang Bridge
Length Over Water: 8.4 kilometres
3602A
3602B
3602C		Gelugor-Penang Bridge Interchange3602B West
FT 6 Gelugor Highway
Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) Regional Office
Jelutong
Gelugor
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)

FT 3113 Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway
(Bayan Lepas Expressway)
3602C North
George Town / Weld Quay
Air Itam
Batu Feringgi
Penang Hospital

3602A South
Batu Maung
Bayan Lepas Industrial Area
Penang International Airport
Jerejak Island (Jetty)		Stacked expressway Interchange
Tesco Penang
3602C
North		Jalan Tengku Kudin InterchangeWEST
P19 Penang Middle Ring Road
Jalan Yengku Kudin
Gelugor
Batu Feringgi
Tanjung Bungah
Air Itam
Penang Hospital 		Interchange from/to Penang Bridge and Bayan Lepas only
Penang Bridge Penang Bridge
( FT 3113 Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway)
(Bayan Lepas Expressway)
PBSB border limit
FT 3113 Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway
(Jelutong Expressway)
JKR and MPPP border limit
North
FT 3113 Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway
(Jelutong Expressway) George Town / Weld Quay
Komtar Ferry
Sungai Pinang
kmExitInterchangeToRemarks
Malaysian Highway Authority Northern Regional OfficeMalaysian Highway Authority Northern Regional Office
3602B
WEST		Universiti Sains Malaysia Interchange FT 6 Gelugor Highway
North
George Town City Centre
Jelutong
Gelugor
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
Penang Hospital

South
Balik Pulau
Bayan Lepas
Penang International Airport 		Trumpet interchange

Commemorative events

Commemorative postage stamps to mark the opening of the Penang Bridge on 1985 were issued by the then Malaysian Postal Services Department (now Pos Malaysia) 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[6] and suicides.

On 20 January 2019, two cars travelling mainland bound collided and one plunged into the Malacca Strait as a result.[7] A search operation was launched for the submerged car and the victim was later found dead.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Bridge info". Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  2. "Penang Bridge". PLUS Malaysia Berhad. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  3. "Bridge details". Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  4. "bridge details". Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
  5. "No more bridge tolls for motorcyclists in Penang". Malay Mail. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  6. "Penang Bridge SUV Accident - It was the 5th Time!". 22 January 2019.
  7. "Car plunges into sea after collision on Penang Bridge". The Star. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  8. "Missing SUV Driver that plunged into sea believed to be college student". The Star. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
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