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 M ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

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 isla ...

, crossing the Penang Strait. 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 a ...

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 an ...

. 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 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 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 ...

. 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 SmartTAGs 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) 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 as a result. A search operation was launched for the submerged car and the victim was later found dead.

References

External links

Penang Bridge

Malaysian Highway Authority

Satellite 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