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Langkawi's Curved Bridge to Open Soon

Suspended about 700m above sea level at Gunung Mat Cincang, the island"s newest attraction will be opened next week.

The RM2.45mil bridge, which is the country"s first curved suspended pedestrian bridge, is suspended from a record-breaking 82m-high single pylon.

The project"s master planner and designer Dr Peter A. Wyss said the 125m-long bridge was believed to be one of the world"s longest curved pedestrian bridges.

“Some 100 workers took about a year to complete the bridge last October after it was approved by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in February 2003,” he said recently.

Dr Wyss, 60, said the curved bridge intersected a dramatic geological chasm up to 100m above ground, giving visitors a unique experience.

“The view from the bridge is simply breathtaking. Visitors would be able to view the Andaman Sea and Thailand"s Tarutao Island as well,” said Dr Wyss who is from the Penang-based Wyss Planning Consultant Sdn Bhd.

Dr Wyss, who also designed the RM40mil cable car project located several metres away from the bridge, said the 1.8m-wide bridge had two 3.6m-wide triangular platforms that provided a spectacular viewing-cum-resting area for visitors.

“In contrast to a straight bridge, where you can see its end from the starting point, the curved bridge offers changing perspectives as one proceeds along it,” he said.

“The most difficult task was installing the prefabricated part of the bridge with the use of a Russian Kamov helicopter, which has a carrying capacity of 4.5 tonnes,” he said.

Dr Wyss said local contractor Alam Langkawi Sdn Bhd constructed the bridge, while the materials were prefabricated at a factory in Butterworth.

Among the safety features on the bridge, he said, were double-steel railing on the upper body level and an enclosed wire mesh as well as a timber parapet below.

Langkawi 20/01/2005