Penang Bridge

Expressway 36
Penang Bridge
Route information
Maintained by PLUS Malaysia Berhad with its subsidiary Projek Lebuhraya Usahasama Berhad (Former concessionaries known as Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd (PBSB))
Length:	13.5 km (8.4 mi)
Existed:	1970's – present
History:	Opened 3 August 1985, inaugurated 14 September 1985[1]
Major junctions
East end:	North–South Expressway Northern Route and Jalan Perusahan Perai at Perai, Seberang Perai
	North–South Expressway Northern Route Jalan Perusahan Perai Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway Gelugor Highway
West end:	Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway and Gelugor Highway at Gelugor, Penang Island
Location
Primary destinations:	George Town, Bayan Lepas, Perai, Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam
Highway system
Highways in Malaysia Expressways Federal State

Penang Bridge Jambatan Pulau Pinang 槟威大桥 பினாங்கு பாலம்
Carries	Motor vehicles
Crosses	Selatan Strait, Malaysia
Locale	Penang
Official name	Penang Bridge
Maintained by	PLUS Malaysia Berhad with its subsidiary Projek Lebuhraya Usahasama Berhad (Former concessionaries known as Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd (PBSB))
Characteristics
Design	cable-stayed bridge box girder bridge
Total length	13.5 km (8.4 mi)
Width	--
Longest span	225 m
History
Designer	Primary Government of Malaysia Malaysian Highway Authority Secondary Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company (Korea) Ltd United Engineers Malaysia Berhad
Constructed by	Primary Package 1 Loh & Loh Construction Co Ltd Package 2 Maraputra Sdn Bhd Package 3, 4 and 5 Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company (Korea) Ltd Sykt. Pembinaan Hashbuddin (M) Sdn. Bhd. (Joint Venture) Lim Kar Bee & Sons Sdn. Bhd. (Joint Venture) United Engineers Malaysia Berhad Package 6 and 7 Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company (Korea) Ltd Sykt Pembinaan Rahim & Sons Sdn. Bhd. Secondary Howard Needles & Tammen, Bergendoff Intl. Inc. SA/JK(SEA) (Consulting Engineer)
Construction begin	1982[1]
Construction end	1985[1]
Inaugurated	14 September 1985[1]
Opened	3 August 1985
Statistics
Toll	Depends on vehicle type (island-bound only)

The Penang Bridge (Malay: Jambatan Pulau Pinang; Chinese: 槟威大桥; pinyin: Bīn-Wēi dà qiáo; Tamil: பினாங்கு பாலம்), route E36, 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 Selatan 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 8.4 kilometres (5.2 miles).^[3]

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.

Route description

Routes across Selatan Strait (Penang Strait) as of 2014.

The route begins at the Penang Bridge interchange with the North–South Expressway Northern Route and Jalan Perusahaan Perai. The route then briefly goes southwest, where island-bound commuters proceed to pay the bridge toll. At the shore where the bridge begins, the route turns westwards, crossing the Selatan Strait. In the middle of the bridge, the route bends slightly northwest towards Gelugor. On the island side, the route ends at the shore at its interchange with the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway and the Gelugor Highway.^[4]

History

Planning

Before 1985, transportation between the island and the mainland was solely dependent 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's Tun Abdul Razak and the 2nd Chief Minister of Penang's Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu.

At the end of 1971, the Malaysian government appointed Christiani Nielsen A/S of Denmark to carry out a feasibility study.

In the year 1976, 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 United States in association with Jurutera Konsultant (SEA) Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia was appointed to design and supervise the construction of the bridge.

On 23 July 1981, Works Minister of Malaysia's Dato Seri 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.

Construction

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

Opening

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

Penang Bridge Widening Project

When the bridge was constructed, the central span had six lanes, while the rest of the bridge had four lanes. There was an ongoing project to have the entire bridge widened to six lanes. Work on the project began on January 2008 and was completed in late 2009.

Penang Bridge Widening Project on YouTube

Bridge specifications^[5]

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.

• Overall Length: 13.5 km (8.4 mi)
• Length Over Water: 8.4 km (5.2 mi)
• Penang Island Viaduct & Approach: 1.5 km (0.93 mi)
• Prai Approach: 3.6 km (2.2 mi)
• Carriageway: 3 lanes per carriageway
• Height of Tower Above Water: 101.5 m
• Height of Bridge Above Water: 33 m
• Main Span: 225 m
• End Span: 107.5 m
• Other Span: 40 m
• Speed limit: 80 km/h
• Maximum Gradient: 3.0%

Features

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 has a Tenaga Nasional TNB's 132kV power cable.

Tolls

Overview

Since 1985, 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 (PBSB), which has become a member company of PLUS Malaysia Berhad with its subsidiary Projek Lebuhraya Usahasama Berhad.

Electronic Toll Collections

As part of an initiative to facilitate faster transaction at the Perai Toll Plaza, all toll transactions at this toll plaza on the Penang Bridge has now conducted electronically via PLUSMiles, Touch 'n Go cards or SmartTAGs starting 9 September 2015.

Toll rates

Class	Type of vehicles	Cash (Rate in Malaysian Ringgit (RM))
1	Motorcycles	RM 1.40
2	Motorcycles with sidecars, cars including station wagons and commercial vehicles on three wheels	RM 7.00
3	Lorries and vans with two axles and four wheels	RM 12.00
	Buses with two axles and four wheels	RM 6.00
4	Lorries, vans and buses with two axles and five or six wheels	RM 25.00
	Buses with two axles and five or six wheels	RM 12.50
5	Vehicles with three axles	RM 45.00
	Buses with three axles	RM 22.50
6	Vehicles with four axles	RM 60.00
7	Vehicles with five and more axles	RM 75.00

Note: Touch 'n Go lane and reload lane are also available for motorcycles. The Smart TAG lane is for light vehicles only. Cash payment is not accepted.

Junction list

District	km	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
Seberang Perai Tengah	0.0	161	Penang Bridge I/C	() North–South Expressway Northern Route – Bukit Kayu Hitam, Alor Setar, Gerik East, Butterworth, Juru, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur Jalan Perusahaan Perai – Perai, Perai Industrial Area
		Penang Bridge Toll Plaza (barrier system, (accepts Touch 'n Go and Smart TAG only) westbound only)
Seberang Perai Tengah/Northeast Penang Island		Penang Bridge over the Selatan Strait
Northeast Penang Island	13.5	–	–	Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway – (Batu Maung), Bayan Lepas, (Penang International Airport ), George Town Gelugor Highway – Gelugor, Bayan Lepas, (Penang International Airport ), George Town	Serves Universiti Sains Malaysia's Penang campus and the Malaysian Highway Authority's Penang office
1.000 km = 0.621 mi; 1.000 mi = 1.609 km I/C - interchange

Commemorative events

The commemorative postage stamps to mark the opening of the Penang Bridge on 1985 was issued by then the Malaysian Postal Services Department (now Pos Malaysia) on 15 September 1985. The denominations for these stamps were 20 cents, 40 cents, and RM 1.00.

Major events

See also

• Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge
• Penang
• North-South Expressway
• Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway
• Touch 'n Go
• Smart TAG
• Road signs in Malaysia
• Malaysian Federal Roads system
• Malaysian State Roads system
• Malaysian expressway system

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. Microsoft; Nokia (14 January 2015). "Penang Bridge" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
5. "bridge details". Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd. Retrieved 21 December 2007.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Penang Bridge
• Malaysian Highway Authority
• Satellite Image of Penang Bridge at Google Maps
• Penang Bridge at Structurae