Well, if you are, you better be prepared to spend a bit more time on the bridge soon.

Necessary closure

That's because several lanes on the Penang Bridge will be closed for public use for up to three months.

Penang infrastructure and transport committee chairman Zairil Khir Johar told Malay Mail that the closure of the lanes is to facilitate repair works on some electrical cables that caught fire recently.

To minimise the distraction to the traffic flow, Zairil told the news portal that they will most likely close one lane on each side of the bridge at night.

However, he stressed that decision can only be made after a meeting with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and PLUS Expressways.

He added that the repair works on the electrical cables at KM3.2 of the bridge would take a maximum of three months as promised by TNB.

Fire on the Penang Bridge

Last Monday (22 February), a power cable on the Penang Bridge caught fire, causing massive traffic jams spanning several kilometres on both sides of the bridge.

According to a report by New Straits Times, the fire and black smoke can be seen coming from the underside of the bridge, where the power cable was located.

The fire caused three other cables to trip, but thankfully, no one was injured in the incident.