There were two factors that took people off-guard and left them somewhat perplexed by the news. The first was that the island would soon have three links to the mainland – the regular ferry service, the current 13.5km Penang Bridge and the upcoming second one spanning some 23.5km.

The idea of a fourth conduit inevitably raised concern over whether it would just end up underutilised as an excessive piece of costly infrastructure. There were also fears too that too many connections would induce higher volumes of traffic to spill into Penang, inundating the already stressed and crowded streets of the island.

But there was another important environmental aspect to the 6.5km tunnel that particularly strained nerves. It would be built from the sensitive coastal stretch of Gurney Drive to Bagan Ajam in Butterworth.

Any development along Gurney Drive raises controversy even during the planning stages. In particular, one big reason the Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) project has been bitterly opposed by numerous quarters is that it is likely to involve reclamation of the popular Gurney Drive coastline.

So most individuals and non-governmental organisations seemed rather dumbfounded that the authorities were suddenly embark-ing on so many cross-channel connections. Put together, they did not seem to make feasibility sense.

Nevertheless, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng signed a memorandum of understanding with Beijing Urban Construction Group Co Ltd (BUCG) chairman Liu Longhua to look into the project – witnessed by no less than visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Kuala Lumpur. BUCG, incidentally, was behind the construction of the iconic Bird’s Nest stadium for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

It was also perhaps not coincidental that just days before, Lim had announced plans for two new major roads – an "inner ring road" and another traffic bypass – at a total estimated cost of about RM4 billion, inclusive of land acquisition. The two thoroughfares included a 4.2km George Town Inner Ring Road starting from Jalan Pangkor near Gurney Drive – possibly combining a tunnel and an elevated highway. The other was a 4.6km carriage-way from Bandar Baru Ayer Itam. Both roads would run directly into the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway on the eastern coast of the island.

These two projects have raised eyebrows in more ways than one. For it is pretty well understood that should the inner ring road materialise, it would probably kill off the need for a PORR, at least for a few more decades.

The Penang Island Municipal Council is undertaking a Request for Proposals exercise for each of the two road projects, in which major road concessionaires would be expected to take part.

Ironically enough, the Works Ministry had recently revealed – in response to a parliamentary question from Lim himself – that the federal government had been forced to dish out compensation to the tune of RM2.051 billion to 27 highway concessionaires in the country since the early 80s. That’s public money being given to private companies. So the issue of giving away concessions for public infrastructure itself has always been touchy.

Lim has however stressed that the bypass roads may not materialise because of the cost.

Certainly, Penang needs a major upgrade of its traffic system. The Second Penang Bridge is expected to usher in a sizeable traffic inflow, and also spur commercial and residential development in areas that are closer to the bridge. And it is estimated that the new Bandar Baru Ayer Itam artery alone would alleviate the traffic burden on surrounding roads in the area by about 30% to 40%.

But detractors argue that there needs to be a much more comprehensive answer to the traffic headache. This must include a firm focus on further improving public transport and encouraging less private motor vehicle usage – rather than simply resorting to dropping huge new roads on the island.

In response to concerns aired by the press, the UK-based Halcrow Group which is currently helping to prepare a RM3.2 million Penang Transport Masterplan, has provided an assurance that the plan would take into account a holistic, sustainable solution to the state’s traffic woes.

Penangites loathe the idea of seeing more concrete spaghetti on their relatively idyllic green island. It remains to be seen how far this resistance can hold should the pressure of traffic intensify with the flurry of cross-channel bridges and the tunnel effectively pouring more and more vehicles into the already limited spaces of the once quiet island.

** Republished with permission. This article first appeared in the May 5, 2011 issue of theSun. Himanshu is theSun’s Penang bureau chief.