Coleman Bridge, Singapore

For other uses, see Coleman Bridge (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 1°17′23″N 103°50′53″E / 1.28972°N 103.84806°E / 1.28972; 103.84806

Coleman Bridge
哥里门桥
Carries Vehicles and pedestrians
Crosses Singapore River
Locale Downtown Core and the Singapore River Planning Area, Singapore

Coleman Bridge is a vehicular bridge in Singapore. The bridge links Hill Street and New Bridge Road, spanning the Singapore River near Clarke Quay. Part of the bridge demarcates the boundary between the Downtown Core and the Singapore River Planning Area, both of which are located within the Central Area.

The Coleman Bridge was the second bridge built across the Singapore River and the first built in masonry.

History

In 1840,[1] a brick bridge joining Old Bridge Road and Hill Street over the Singapore River was constructed and called Coleman Bridge. The bridge had nine arches, and was designed by and named after George Drumgoole Coleman (1795–1844), an Irish architect and Singapore's first architect. It was referred to as the New Bridge, lending its name to the road on its southern end — New Bridge Road.[1]

In 1865, the brick bridge was replaced by one made of timber but was not well constructed. It cost about Straits $10,000 and was built by the government. In 1886, an iron bridge was built to replace the wooden one. This iron bridge was considered one of the most attractive spanning the Singapore River. It stood for about a century, but was unable to cope with the increasingly heavy traffic flow between New Bridge Road and Hill Street.

The iron bridge was finally demolished in 1986 and replaced with the present concrete bridge. However, several features of the iron bridge such as the decorative lamp posts and iron railings were incorporated into the current structure, in recognition of its historical significance.

Coleman Bridge is known as yi ma lo khiu or "the bridge at the second road" in Cantonese.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 G. Chandradas, Tien Chung Ping (21 August 2008). "Bridging the gap", The Straits Times.
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