Esplanade Bridge

Coordinates: 1°17′16″N 103°51′14″E / 1.28778°N 103.85389°E / 1.28778; 103.85389

Esplanade Bridge
滨海桥
முற்றவெளி பாலம்
Coordinates 1°17′16″N 103°51′14″E / 1.2878°N 103.8539°E / 1.2878; 103.8539Coordinates: 1°17′16″N 103°51′14″E / 1.2878°N 103.8539°E / 1.2878; 103.8539
Carries Motor vehicles and pedestrians
Crosses Marina Bay
Locale Downtown Core, Singapore
Official name Esplanade Bridge
Characteristics
Design Arch bridge
Total length 280 m (919 ft.)
Width 46 m (150 ft.)
History
Constructed by Obayashi Corporation
Opened 1997

The Esplanade Bridge is a 261-metre-long (850 ft.) road bridge that spans across the mouth of the Singapore River in Singapore with the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay on its northern abutment and the Merlion on the southern.[1] The 70 metre-wide (230 ft.) low-level concrete arched bridge has seven spans and supports two four-lane carriageways and walkways along both sides.[1]

The bridge was built to provide faster vehicular access between Marina Centre and the financial district of Shenton Way and to displace traffic from St Andrew's Road and Connaught Drive.[1] Construction of the bridge began in early 1994 and was completed in March 1997. Service 501 is the first bus route to pass by the Esplanade Bridge. On 10 July 1999, the right turn from Hill Street to Bras Basah Road is prohibited, and motorists had to use High Street and Parliament Place, together with the St Andrew's Road.[1] The main contractor was Obayashi Corporation while the street lamps were designed by Light Cibles. The bridge then blocked views of the Merlion statue from the Marina Bay waterfront, raising a need for the original Merlion statue to be relocated from the back to the front of the bridge.[2]

Occasional road closures

The bridge offers panoramic views of Marina South and the rest of Marina Bay. However, this also makes it subject to occasional road closures on special occasions, where the bridge closes to all road traffic to allow spectators and pedestrians to observe fireworks seen during the National Day celebrations, New Year's Eve and the Singapore Fireworks Celebrations. On these nights, the bridge is usually full of onlookers. The street lights on the bridge are usually turned off before the fireworks start, and turned on after their completion.

The bridge also forms part of the Singapore Grand Prix's Marina Bay Street Circuit, which debuted on 28 September 2008, and therefore has to be completely closed for the duration of the racing weekend.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 G. Chandradas, Tien Chung Ping (21 August 2008). "Bridging the gap", The Straits Times.
  2. ↑ "A new home for the Merlion". URA Skyline (July/August 2000). p. 6–8


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