Penang’s ambitious transport master plan (PTMP) will see the construction of a land tunnel starting from the bypass linking Persiaran Gurney with Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu. Half of the structure will be elevated, while the rest will be underground or at road level, reported The Malaysian Insight.
PTMP special purpose vehicle chief Lim Hock Seng told reporters on Friday (5 October) that the underground passageway will be used at places with narrow roads that is not suitable for viaducts.
In particular, the contractor plans to set-up a double deck tunnel at Jalan Perak and Jalan Pangkor, before the bypass surfaces again in Sungai Pinang.
“The existing road is also narrow on Jalan Sungai Pinang. We cannot build four lanes, which will go right up to the edge of the buildings along the road. So the plan is to build a double deck elevated viaduct. We will have two lanes on top, two at the bottom,” he said.
The entire infrastructure development is being carried out by Consortium Zenith Construction.
According to its Senior Executive Director Le Chee Hoe, the underground passageway will be built through a tunnel boring machine as the use of explosives could endanger people in the city centre.
There will also be three other road projects under the multi-billion PTMP. These comprise the North Coast Pair Road running from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang, and a bypass connecting Air Itam with Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu road. Also include is the 19.5km PIL 1 highway that links Gurney Drive with the second bridge officially known as Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge.
Notably, the RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel and the RM46 billion PTMP as well as the three major roads are part of the state government’s efforts to address the road congestion in Penang.
The proposed transport solution also includes public transport such as Light Rail Transit (LRT) system and creation of three man-made islands off Penang’s southern coast.
Image sourced from The Edge Property
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