PENANG BRIDGE

The 'Penang Bridge' ('''Jambatan Pulau Pinang''' in Malay) is a dual-carriageway toll bridge that connects Gelugor on the island of Penang and Seberang Prai on the mainland of Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula. The bridge is also linked to the North-South Expressway in Prai and Jelutong Expressway in Penang. It was officially opened to traffic on September 14 1985. The total length of the bridge is 13.5 km (8.4 miles), making it among the longest bridges in the world as well as a national landmark. PLUS Expressway Berhad is the concession holder who manages it.
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.
Similar to the ferry services in Penang, motorists only need to pay the toll fare while heading to the island. There is no charge for leaving the island.
Currently, the Penang Bridge is being expanded from 4 lanes to 6 lanes to accommodate the increasing traffic on the bridge. A proposal for a second bridge, the Penang Second Bridge, has been approved by the government and included as one of the Ninth Malaysia Plan national projects. According to official news, construction work of the new Penang Second Bridge will be start on Nov 2007, and target completion before end of the year 2010.

Contents

History

Chronology

Bridge specifications

Features

Toll rates

List of Interchanges

Interesting facts

Major events

Penang Bridge International Marathon

See also

External links

History

Chronology

★ Early 1970s - The ideas to built the bridge linking Seberang Perai to Penang Island was initiated by the late Tun Abdul Razak, the second Prime Minister of Malaysia

★ End of 1970s - The bridge was planned during the term of third Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn.

★ 23 July 1981 - Work Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu announced that the Penang Bridge, Penang would be constructed using the cable-stayed concrete girder of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge instead of the steel-tied arch in the style of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

★ 1982 - Construction of the Penang Bridge officially began.

★ 3 August 1985 - Official opening of the Penang Bridge by the fourth Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad. He drove across the bridge in a red Proton Saga (a national car), carrying the national flag to officiate the opening ceremony.

★ 14 September - Penang Bridge was opened to traffic for the first time.

★ 15 August 1993 - Penang Bridge has now managed by the highway concessionaries 'Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd' from the government body Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM)

★ 4 April 2007 - A bomb hoax found at the Penang Bridge caused the bridge to close for more than two hours (from 4:30 pm) and reopened to traffic at 7:00 pm after a bomb disposal squad declared it safe.

Bridge specifications

★ 'Overall Length:' 13.5 km (8.4 miles)

★ 'Length Over Water:' 8.4 km (5.2 miles)

★ 'Penang Island Viaduct & Approach:' 1.5 km (0.9 miles)

★ 'Prai Approach:' 3.6 km (2.2 miles)

★ 'Carriageway:' 2 lanes per carriageway except in the central span where it is 3. Work to widen the entire bridge to 3 lanes per carriageway has begun.

★ '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 SOS emergency feature and traffic CCTV. The 'Gelugor Complex Interchange' is the largest highway interchange in Malaysia.

Toll rates

Since 1985, Penang Bridge has been a tolled bridge. The first concession was a government body, the Malaysian Highway Authority. Since 1993, toll collection has been undertaken by a private concession company, ''Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd''. However, On 1 September 2003, this company became a member of PLUS Expressway Berhad.
This table below is a list of toll rates for various vehicles crossing the bridge:-

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

:'Note:' Touch 'n Go is also available for light vehicles and motorcycles. Smart TAG lane are for light vehicles only. As part of the concessionaire's initiative to increase use of the more efficient electronic payment system, user with Touch 'n Go card (and Smart TAG) issued from Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd office will receive a 20% discount on the Penang Bridge toll.

List of Interchanges

This is a list of interchanges of the Penang Bridge.

Km	Exit	Interchange	To	Remarks
			'NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY NORTHERN ROUTE' 'NORTH' Sungai Petani Alor Star Bukit Kayu Hitam
' NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY NORTHERN ROUTE'
' PENANG BRIDGE'
		Perai	'WEST' ' BUTTERWORTH OUTER RING ROAD' Perai Butterworth 'EAST' 'BUTTERWORTH-KULIM HIGHWAY' Bukit Mertajam	Parcelo cloverleaf interchange
	'A' 'B'	Penang Bridge	'INTERCHANGE A' 'NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY NORTHERN ROUTE' 'SOUTH' Taiping Ipoh Kuala Lumpur 'INTERCHANGE B' 'JALAN PERUSAHAAN' Perai Industrial Area	'INTERCHANGE A' Stacked expressway interchange 'INTERCHANGE B' Cloverleaf interchange
'Perai toll plaza (PLAZA A) (Enter bridge only) PBSB Opened toll system Pay toll'
'Perai toll plaza (PLAZA B) (Enter bridge only) PBSB Opened toll system Pay toll'
		Perai toll plaza 'PBSB'		Enter bridge only
		'Penang Bridge' 13.5 kilometres		Start/End of Bridge
5.1 - 5.9		'Penang Bridge'		Central span cable stayed bridge six lane carriageway
		'Penang Bridge' 13.5 kilometres		Start/End of Bridge
		Gelugor	'SOUTH' 'BAYAN LEPAS EXPRESSWAY' Bayan Lepas Penang International Airport 'WEST' 'GELUGOR HIGHWAY' Gelugor Jalan Gelugor Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) 'NORTH' Jalan Tengku Kudin 'JELUTONG EXPRESSWAY' George Town	Stacked expressway interchange
	'WEST'	Universiti Sains Malaysia	'GELUGOR HIGHWAY' Gelugor Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)	Trumpet interchange
	'NORTH'	Jalan Tengku Kudin	'PENANG MIDDLE RING ROAD' 'JALAN TENGKU KUDUN' Jalan Masjid Negeri	Interchange from/to Penang Bridge and Bayan Lepas only
' PENANG BRIDGE PLUS Expressway border limit'
' JELUTONG EXPRESSWAY JKR and MPPP border limit'
			'JELUTONG EXPRESSWAY' George Town

Interesting facts

★ 'Penang Bridge toll plaza (Prai)' is the first toll plaza in Malaysia to introduce toll payment by Contactless Smart Card.

★ 'Penang Bridge toll plaza (Prai)' is the first toll plaza in Malaysia with smart card payment for all classes of vehicles.

Major events

Penang Bridge International Marathon

The Penang Bridge International Marathon is held every year since 1985.
The premier run in Malaysia to celebrate the 21st Anniversary of the opening of Penang Bridge, the Penang Bridge International Marathon, had been held on July 30, 2006 in Penang. The run will be held again on 24 June 2007.
Participants ran over the third longest bridge in the world - the Penang Bridge - and along a scenic coastal highway. This is the only time of the year when the bridge is closed for several hours.
The biggest run in the country incorporates a marathon, a half-marathon and a quarter-marathon. The Run catered both to serious runners and amateur ones. It promoted healthy living and built a sense of community.
This is in addition to trophies, finisher medals, certificates and prizes donated by sponsors. In the past, this has included air tickets, hotel stays and household electrical goods.
The run was jointly organised by the Municipal Council of Penang Island (''Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang'') and Malaysian Highway Authority with the co-operation of the Penang Government, the Penang Amateur Athletic Association, the Penang Youth and Sports Department , University Science Malaysia, Penang Tourism Action Council and Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd.
''For more information see also Penang Bridge International Marathon website''

See also

★ Penang Second Bridge

★ Penang

★ North-South Expressway

★ Jelutong Expressway

★ Touch 'n Go

★ Smart TAG

★ Road signs in Malaysia

★ Malaysian Federal Roads system

★ Malaysian State Roads system

★ Malaysian expressway system

External links

★ PLUS Expressway Berhad

★ Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd

★ Malaysian Highway Authotity

★ Satellite Image of the Penang Bridge at Google Maps

★ Penang Bridge Blog - maintained by Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd, the bridge's operator

★ Penang Bridge - Penang National Landmark

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