Parts of Penang Bridge to close for a year for maintenance

GEORGE TOWN: Certain lanes on the Penang Bridge will be closed for a year to facilitate checks and maintenance works on the structure linking the island to the mainland.

PLUS Malaysia Berhad COO Mohammad Fuad Khusairi said the closure will be from Aug 22 this year to Aug 21 next year.

He said checks on the cables and structure needed to be done every four years for the safety of users.

"To ensure comprehensive works can be carried out, parts of the road will be closed," he said in a media briefing today.

Mohammad Fuad said the eastbound (Penang Island to Seberang Perai) emergency lane will be closed for the first six months.

He said the westbound (Seberang Perai to Penang Island) emergency lane will be closed for the subsequent six months.

He said a tidal flow lane will be created between 4pm to 8pm to accommodate peak hour traffic for the mainland bound traffic for the first closure.

Mohammad Fuad said a similar lane will be created between 6am to 10am to accommodate peak hour traffic for island bound traffic in the subsequent closure.

He said the middle lanes will be closed at night to enable workers to install scaffolding, passenger lifts and inspection works.

"Users can get the latest traffic information on the bridge through the PLUS app and our Twitter account," he added.

Construction of the 13.5-kilometre long bridge was completed in 1985 and is used by some 80,000 vehicles on average daily during peak hours.