Merdeka Bridge ( Malay: ''Jambatan Merdeka'') is a major bridge in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. It is situated in Jalan Butterworth-Sungai Petani ( Federal Route ) at the

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman (دار الأمان; Arabic for 'The Safe Abode') and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of ...

Border on

Muda River The Muda River () is the longest river in Kedah, Malaysia. Course Sourced in Ulu Muda Forest in Sik region in northeastern Kedah, along the border with Thailand, the river meets the water needs of the states of Kedah and Penang. The river flows ...

Etymology

The word ''

Merdeka ''Merdeka'' ( Jawi: ; , ) is a term in Indonesian and Malay which means "independent" or " free". It is derived from the Sanskrit ''maharddhika'' (महर्द्धिक) meaning "rich, prosperous, and powerful". In the Malay Archipelag ...

'' means "

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

" in Malay. The bridge was named by Minister of Works and Communications

Sardon Jubir Sardon bin Jubir (, ; 19 March 1917 – 14 December 1985) was a Malaysian politician who had served as the 4th Governor of Penang from 1975 to 1981. Prior to his governorship, he had served as Minister of Health, Minister of Works and Commun ...

to commemorate the

of the

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

in 1957.

History

Merdeka Bridge was constructed between 1955 and 1956. The bridge was officially opened by

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman (8 February 19036 December 1990), commonly referred to as Tunku, was a Malaysian statesman who served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1957 to 1970. He previously served as the only chief minister of Federation of Malaya ...

in 6 April 1956. The bridge was initially a 2-lane single carriageway bridge before being duplicated on another side for Penang-bound traffic to increase traffic capacity.

Features

Merdeka Bridge is a set of

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

tied arch bridges A tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward-directed horizontal forces of the arch(es) are borne as tension by a chord tying the arch ends rather than by the ground or the bridge foundations. This strengthened chord may be the deck ...

. Each bridge contains two motor vehicle drive lanes. The older bridge have two pedestrian walkways while the newer bridge only have one. Jambatan Merdeka 1

References

Bridges completed in 1956 Bridges in Kedah Bridges in Penang Tied arch bridges {{Malaysia-bridge-struct-stub