Penang Second Bridge

Penang Second Bridge, the longest bridge in Southeast Asia was officially open by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday. The 24km-long bridge was named as Sultan Abdul Halim Mua'dzam Shah Bridge, after the Sultan of Kedah state who was appointed twice as Malaysia’s Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.

The new bridge is open to public from today 12.01am onwards and will be toll free for the first month of its opening. The toll rate is not yet announced but motorists will be charged a toll rate more than RM 7 (current toll rate for Penang Bridge) and less than RM 10.

A quick comparison between Penang Bridge and Penang Second Bridge:

	Penang Bridge	Penang Second Bridge
Connecting	Seberang Perai to George Town	Batu Kawan to Batu Maung
Length	13.5km	24km
Developer	Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company, UEM Bhd	China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd, UEM Builders Bhd
Construction Period	1982 – Sept 1985	Nov 2008 – Feb 2014
Toll Rate	RM 7.00 for cars	RM 8.50 for cars (from 1st Apr 2014)

Today, I took the opportunity to drive to Penang Island via Penang Second Bridge. I drove from Juru Toll and turned out at the new Batu Kawan Exit. The toll rate is RM 1.40. There are only two lanes but with a dedicated motorcycle lane for each direction in Penang Second Bridge. The curvy design of the bridge was deliberately chosen to reduce traffic accidents.

Penang Second Bridge is more suitable for people who are moving up from South of Penang as they can skip the Juru Toll who is quite congested during peak hours. For people who stay in Seberang Perai Tengah or Seberang Perai Utara, Penang Bridge is still the best choice. With the opening of Penang Second Bridge, hopefully the traffic condition in Penang Bridge can be improved significantly.