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
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.
Chronology
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.
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
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
The 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
Entering Plaza Tol Perai Plaza A
Since 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
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 cards and SmartTAGs since 9 September 2015.
Commemorative 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
Over 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
The 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]
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