The Penang Bridge is a
dual carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or ''toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road. ...
and
controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
in the state of
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. The bridge connects
Perai
Perai is an urban settlement in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It lies at the southern bank of the Perai River and borders Butterworth to the north. Perai gave its name to the city of Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the State o ...
on the
mainland side of the state with
Gelugor
Gelugor is a southern suburb of George Town in Penang, Malaysia. Named after a plant species, Gelugor lies along the eastern seaboard of Penang Island, between Jelutong and Sungai Dua, and nearly south of the city centre.
Gelugor had been po ...
on the
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
, crossing the
Penang Strait
The Penang Strait is an 11 kilometre-wide strait that separates Penang Island from mainland Malay Peninsula. Penang Island is to the west of the channel, while Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the State of Penang, is to the east. The norther ...
. The bridge was the first and,
until 2014, the only road connection between the
peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
and the island. The bridge is
the second-longest bridge over water in Malaysia, 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
The PLUS Expressways Berhad () is the largest highway concessionaries or build–operate–transfer operator company in Malaysia. A member of the UEM Group, the company is also the largest listed toll expressway operator in Southeast Asia and t ...
. Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd was the concession holder before it was merged with the current concessionaire.
History
Chronology
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 : 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 70–80 km/h.
The bridge has an emergency layby equipped with SOS phone. Traffic CCTV and
Variable Message Sign
A variable- (also changeable-, electronic-, or dynamic-) message sign, often abbreviated VMS, CMS, or DMS, and in the UK known as a matrix sign,
is an electronic traffic sign often used on roadways to give travelers information about special ...
(VMS) are installed at all locations along the bridge. The bridge carries a
Tenaga Nasional
Tenaga Nasional Berhad (, abbreviated as TNB; TENAGA, ), also known as Tenaga Nasional or simply Tenaga, is the Malaysian multinational electricity company and is the only electric utility company in Peninsular Malaysia and also the largest p ...
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. Toll for motorcyclists was abolished from 1 January 2019.
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
The Touch 'n Go smart card is used by Malaysian toll expressway and highway operators as the sole electronic payment system (EPS). The credit card-sized smart card is made of plastic with Philips' MIFARE Classic microchip technology embedded i ...
cards and
SmartTAG
SmartTAG (acronym in Malay for Sistem Membayar Automatik Rangkaian Tol or "Toll Network Automatic Payment Systems") is an on-board unit (OBU) vehicle-based device used as an electronic toll collection (ETC) system over long distances (maximum ...
s since 9 September 2015.
Toll rates
List of interchange
3602B Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Link
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
Pos Malaysia Berhad ( en, Malaysian Post, ) is a postal delivery service in Malaysia, with history dating back to early 1800s.
Services
Pos Malaysia provides postal and related services, namely:
* Standard Mail (Flexipack Domestic, Standard M ...
) on 15 September 198
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
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, conne ...
as a result. A search operation was launched for the submerged car and the victim was later found dead.
See also
*
Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge
The Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge or Penang Second Bridge ( ms, Jambatan Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah or ''Jambatan Kedua Pulau Pinang'';) is a dual carriageway toll bridge in Penang, Malaysia. It connects Bandar Cassia ( Batu Ka ...
*
North–South Expressway
*
Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway
References
External links
Penang BridgeMalaysian Highway AuthoritySatellite Image of Penang Bridge at Google Maps*
{{Northern Corridor Economic Region
1985 establishments in Malaysia
Cable-stayed bridges in Malaysia
Expressways in Malaysia
Bridges completed in 1985
Expressways and highways in Penang
Toll bridges in Malaysia
Northern Corridor Economic Region
Bridges in Penang