GEORGE TOWN, Aug 16 ― The slow and emergency lanes on the first Penang Bridge will be closed for one year due to maintenance works.

Operator PLUS Malaysia Berhad said the lanes will be closed for six months on one side and another six months on the other side starting this August 22.

PLUS chief operations officer Mohammad Fuad Khusairi said the closure of the lanes is to facilitate scheduled maintenance works on the bridge's stay cables.

"The stay cables are the bridge's most important component and safety checks needed to be conducted on it every four years,” he said in a media briefing on the planned maintenance works.

To meet with the high traffic flow during peak hours, he said the tidal flow lane will be activated between 4pm and 8pm on the mainland-bound lane during the first six months.

The tidal flow lane on the island-bound lane will be activated between 6am to 10am from February until August 2018 when maintenance works started on that side.

The middle lanes of the bridge will also be closed at night to allow installation of scaffolding, passenger lifts and inspection works.

Mohammad Fuad advised motorists to use the alternative second bridge or the ferry service as alternative routes during this period.

Motorists can get the latest traffic updates on the bridge through the PLUS Mobile app, its Twitter account @plustrafik or traffic apps such as Waze and Google Maps.

More than 80,000 vehicles use the bridge daily and it is often congested during rush hour in the mornings and evenings.