The 
 | |
|---|---|
| Penang Bridge Jambatan Pulau Pinang பினாங்கு பாலம் 槟威大桥 | |
 Penang Bridge in red | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 13.5 km (8.4 mi) |
| Existed | 1970's–present |
| History | Opened 3 August 1985[citation needed], 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 | |
| Country | Malaysia |
| Primary destinations | George Town, Bayan Lepas, Perai, Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam |
| Highway system | |
Penang Bridge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 5°21′14″N 100°21′09″E / 5.353863°N 100.352554°E |
| Carries | Motor vehicles |
| Crosses | Penang Strait, Malaysia |
| Locale | Penang |
| Official name | Penang Bridge |
| Maintained by | PLUS Expressways |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | cable-stayed bridge box girder bridge |
| Total length | 13.5 km (8.4 mi) |
| Width | -- |
| Longest span | 225 meters |
| History | |
| Designer | Primary Government of Malaysia Malaysian Highway Authority Secondary  Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company (Korea) LtdUnited Engineers Malaysia Berhad |
| Constructed by | Multiple
|
| Construction start | 12 April 1982[1] |
| Construction end | 13 April 1985[1] |
| Opened | 3 August 1985 |
| Inaugurated | 14 September 1985[1] |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | Depends 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.[when?]
History
editChronology
edit| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Early 1970s | The idea to build a bridge linking Seberang Perai to Penang Island was suggested by Prime Minister Abdul Razak Hussein, and Chief Minister of Penang Lim Chong Eu. |
| 23 July 1981 | Works Minister, S. Samy Vellu announced that the Penang Bridge would be constructed using the cable-stayed concrete girders of the San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge instead of the steel-tied arch in the style of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.[4] |
| 1982 | Construction of the Penang Bridge officially began. |
| 3 August 1985 | Official opening of the Penang Bridge by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.[5] |
| 14 September 1985 | The Penang Bridge is officially opened to traffic.[6] |
Penang Bridge Widening Project
editWhen 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
editThe 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 255 m (837 ft) main span is 33 m (108 ft) above water, held up by four 101.5 m (333 ft) towers. The carriageway has 3 lanes in each direction and a speed limit of 70–80 km/h (43–50 mph).[7]
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
editSince 1985, the Penang Bridge has been a tolled bridge. Fees are charged only when entering the bridge from the mainland and travelling towards Penang 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. Beginning 1 January 2019, toll collection for motorcyclists was abolished for both Penang bridges. The price used to be RM1.40.[8][9][10] Since then, the toll canopy for motorcyclists was converted into a layby for motorcyclists.
Electronic toll collection
editAs 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.
Fares
edit(Since 1 February 2020)
| Class | Types of vehicles | Rate (in Malaysian Ringgit (RM)) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motorcycles (Vehicles with two axles and two wheels) |
Free |
| 2 | Cars & Motorcycles with sidecars (Vehicles with two axles and three or four wheels (including station wagons and commercial vehicles)) |
5.74 |
| 3A | Vans and & Buses (Vehicles with two axles and four wheels (excluding lorries)) |
9.84 |
| 3B | Lorries (Vehicles with two axles and four wheels (excluding vans and buses)) |
12.00 |
| 4A | Vans & Buses (Vehicles with two axles and five or six wheels (excluding trucks)) |
20.50 |
| 4B | Large Trucks (Vehicles with two axles and five or six wheels (excluding vans and buses)) |
25.00 |
| 5A | Buses (Vehicles with three axles (excluding trucks)) |
36.90 |
| 5B | Large Trucks (Vehicles with three axles (excluding buses)) |
45.00 |
| 6 | Large Trucks (Vehicles with four axles) |
60.00 |
| 7 | Large Trucks (Vehicles with five or more axles) |
75.00 |
List of interchange
editThis section is missing kilometre posts for junctions. |
| km | Exit | Interchange | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
North Alor Setar Permatang Pauh Seberang Jaya |
||||
(Tun Hussein Onn Highway) | ||||
0 |
Perai Interchange | Northwest Southeast |
Parcelo cloverleaf interchange | |
| Railway crossing bridge | ||||
| Penang Bridge Interchange | 3601A South Kuala Lumpur Ipoh Bukit Tambun 3601B Northwest Perai Industrial Area Southeast Juru |
3601A Stacked expressway interchange 3601B Cloverleaf interchange |
||
(Tun Hussein Onn Highway) | ||||
| U-Turn | U-TURN Perai Butterworth 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 | ||||
PBSB |
Customer Service Centre |
Enter bridge only | ||
| U-Turn | U-TURN George Town Bayan Lepas Customer Service Centre |
|||
| Penang Bridge Length Over Water: 8.4 kilometres |
||||
| 3602A 3602B 3602C |
Gelugor-Penang Bridge Interchange | 3602B West Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) Regional Office Jelutong Gelugor Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) (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 | |
| Lotus's Penang | ||||
| 3602C North |
Jalan Tengku Kudin Interchange | WEST Jalan Yengku Kudin Gelugor Batu Feringgi Tanjung Bungah Air Itam Penang Hospital |
Interchange from/to Penang Bridge and Bayan Lepas only | |
( (Bayan Lepas Expressway) PBSB border limit | ||||
(Jelutong Expressway) JKR and MPPP border limit | ||||
| North (Jelutong Expressway) George Town/Weld Quay Komtar Ferry Sungai Pinang |
||||
3602B Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Link
edit| km | Exit | Interchange | To | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysian Highway Authority Northern Regional Office | Malaysian Highway Authority Northern Regional Office | |||
| 3602B WEST |
Universiti Sains Malaysia Interchange | 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
editCommemorative postage stamps to mark the opening of the Penang Bridge on 1985 were issued by the Malaysian Postal Services Department (now Pos Malaysia) on 15 September 1985.[11] The denominations for these stamps were 20 sen, 40 sen, and RM 1.00.
Incidents and accidents
editOver the years in its operation, the bridge has been a frequent spot for road accidents[12] and suicides.
On 20 January 2019, two cars travelling mainland bound collided with one plunging into the Strait of Malacca.[13] A search operation was launched for the submerged car and the victim was later found dead.[14]
In popular culture
editThe Penang Bridge became a subject matter in cartoonist, Lat's comic book, Lat and Gang published in 1987 by Berita Publishing. In the comic's page 58, Lat illustrated various situations that took place at the bridge.[15]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e "Bridge info". Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ^ "Penang Bridge". PLUS Malaysia Berhad. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Bridge details". Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ^ "Jambatan Pulau Pinang telan $530 juta" (in Malay). Berita Harian. 20 November 1981. p. 1.
- ^ "Setelah 45 tahun kini jadi kenyataan" (in Malay). Berita Harian. 1 August 1985. p. 4. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Jambatan Pulau Pinang dirasmi" (in Malay). Berita Harian. 16 September 1985. p. 6.
- ^ "bridge details". Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
- ^ "Motorcyclists rejoice as they don't have to pay toll now". thestar.com.my. 3 November 2018.
- ^ "No more bridge tolls for motorcyclists in Penang". Malay Mail. Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ Basyir, Mohamed (January 2019). "Toll charges gone at Penang bridges, but some motorcyclists still taking ferries". nst.com.my.
- ^ "The Penang Bridge". Stamps of Malaysia. 14 May 2008. Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ "Penang Bridge SUV Accident - It was the 5th Time!". 22 January 2019.
- ^ "Car plunges into sea after collision on Penang Bridge". The Star. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ^ "Missing SUV Driver that plunged into sea believed to be college student". The Star. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ^ Lat (1987). "Penang Bridge". Lat and Gang. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Berita Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 978-967-969-157-3.