Widening of the Penang Bridge, Malaysia

The Penang Bridge is a 13,5 km long crossing connecting Penang Island to peninsular Malaysia. It was built in 1985 and is currently the only fixed link between Penang and the mainland. The bridge currently carries up to 100,000 vehicles per day, and operates alongside the pre-existing vehicle ferry service. At peak periods both the bridge and the ferry service experience high volumes of traffic, resulting in congestion on both links. In 2003, the bridge concession company commissioned the Structural Designers to investigate options for widening the low-level approach viaduct sections of the bridge in order to increase traffic capacity. The extent of the works included widening 6 km of dual two-lane low-level viaduct approach spans and two single-lane approach ramps. A contract for construction of the widening works was awarded to the Main Contractor in December 2005 and is scheduled for completion in 2009.