Penang Bridge

The Penang Bridge (Malay: Jambatan Pulau Pinang; Chinese: 槟威大桥; pinyin: Bīn-Wēi dà qiáo; Tamil: பினாங்கு பாலம்), route E36, is a 13.5-kilometre (8.4-mile)dual carriageway toll bridge and controlled-access highway in the state of Penang, Malaysia. The bridge connects Perai on the mainland side of the state with Gelugor on the island, crossing the Selatan Strait. The bridge was the first and, until 2014, the only road connection between the peninsula and the island. The bridge is the second-longest bridge in Malaysia and the fifth-longest in Southeast Asia by total length, with a length over water of 8.4 kilometres (5.2 miles).

The bridge was inaugurated on 14 September 1985. 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.

Route description

The route begins at the Penang Bridge interchange with the North–South Expressway Northern Route and Jalan Perusahaan Perai. The route then briefly goes southwest, where island-bound commuters proceed to pay the bridge toll. At the shore where the bridge begins, the route turns westwards, crossing the Selatan Strait. In the middle of the bridge, the route bends slightly northwest towards Gelugor. On the island side, the route ends at the shore at its interchange with the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway and the Gelugor Highway.

Penang

Penang is a state in Malaysia located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Strait of Malacca.

Penang state is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. It is composed of two parts — Penang Island, where the seat of government is, and Seberang Perai (formerly Province Wellesley in English) on the Malay Peninsula.

Highly urbanised and industrialised, Penang is one of the most developed and economically important states in the country, as well as a thriving tourist destination. Penang has the third-highest Human Development Index in Malaysia, after the state of Selangor and the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur. Its heterogeneous population is highly diverse in ethnicity, culture, language and religion. A resident of Penang is colloquially known as a Penangite (in English),Penang lang (in the local Penang Hokkien dialect) or a Penangkaran (In Tamil)

Etymology

The name of "Penang" comes from the modern Malay name Pulau Pinang, which means "island of the areca nut palm" (Areca catechu, family Palmae). The name Penang may refer either to the island of Penang (Pulau Pinang) or the state of Penang (Negeri Pulau Pinang). In Malay, Penang's capital George Town was called and labelled in old maps as Tanjung Penaga (Cape Penaigre), named after the many ballnut trees (also known as Alexandrian laurels, Calophyllum inophyllum) on the coast, but now usually shortened as Tanjung (the Cape).

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles without closing the way underneath such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. There are many different designs that each serve a particular purpose and apply to different situations. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed and anchored, the material used to make it, and the funds available to build it.

Etymology

The Oxford English Dictionary traces the origin of the word bridge to an Old English word brycg, of the same meaning. The word can be traced directly back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰrēw-. The word for the card game of the same name has a different origin.

History

The first bridges made by humans were probably spans of cut wooden logs or planks and eventually stones, using a simple support and crossbeam arrangement. Some early Americans used trees or bamboo poles to cross small caverns or wells to get from one place to another. A common form of lashing sticks, logs, and deciduous branches together involved the use of long reeds or other harvested fibers woven together to form a connective rope capable of binding and holding together the materials used in early bridges.

Abdul Halim

Abdul Halim (Arabic: عبد الحليم‎) is a male Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words Abd, al- and Halim. The name means "servant of the all-clement", Al-Halīm being one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to the Muslim theophoric names.

The letter a of the al- is unstressed, and can be transliterated by almost any vowel, often by u. So the first part can appear as Abdel, Abdul or Abd-al. The second part can be transliterated Halim, Haleem or Haliem, and the whole name subject to variable spacing and hyphenation.

It may refer to:

Males

Penang Island

Penang Island (Malay: Pulau Pinang; Chinese: 檳榔嶼 Tamil:பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British East India Company on 12 August 1786, in honour of the birthday of the Prince of Wales, later King George IV. The capital, George Town, was named after the reigning King George III.

Malaysia has another island called "Pulau Pinang", which is a diving site located in South China Sea and part of the Johor Marine Park, which consists of a group of islands: Pulau Aur, Pulau Dayang, Pulau Lang, and Pulau Pinang itself.

History

Penang was originally part of the Malay Sultanate of Kedah. On 11 August 1786, Captain Francis Light of the British East India Company landed in Penang and renamed it Prince of Wales Island in honour of heir to the British throne. Light then received it as a portion on his marriage to the daughter of the Sultan of Kedah. Light ceded Penang to the Government of India and promised the Sultan military protection from Siamese and Burmese armies who were threatening Kedah. Light is now credited as the founder of Penang.