The Benjamin Sheares Bridge (; ms, Jambatan Benjamin Sheares; ta, பென்ஜமின் ஷியர்ஸ் பாலம்) is the longest bridge in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, spanning 1.8 km, and the tallest, at .
It is named after
Benjamin Sheares
Benjamin Henry Sheares (12 August 1907 – 12 May 1981) was a Singaporean politician, physician and academic who served as the second president of Singapore from 1971 until his death in 1981.
Sheares retired in 1960 and was in private pract ...
, the second
President of Singapore
The president of Singapore is the head of state of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore. The role of the president is to safeguard the Reserves of the Government of Singapore, reserves and the integrity of the Singapore Civil Service, public serv ...
, who died four months before the bridge was opened to the public on 26 September 1981. The bridge is part of the
East Coast Parkway (ECP), at the western end of the expressway. The cost of construction was
S$110 million.
The bridge has one other exit (signed exit 15 on the ECP) for Rochor Road and
Suntec City
Suntec City is a major mixed-use development located in Marina Centre, a subzone of the Downtown Core in Singapore, which combines a shopping mall, office buildings, and a Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, convention centre. Con ...
.
The Benjamin Sheares Bridge crosses over the
Marina Reservoir
The Marina Reservoir is a reservoir in Singapore formed in 2008 by building a dam across the mouth of the Marina Channel. With the completion of the Marina Barrage on 30 October 2008, the reservoir, which contained mainly salt water, became freshw ...
, along the southern coast of mainland Singapore. It passes through the
planning areas of
Kallang
Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore.
Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...
,
Marina East
Marina East is a planning area located in the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore, covering of reclaimed land.
It is the location of NTUC Club's Marina Bay Golf Course (formerly known as the Marina East Course) and the Gardens by ...
,
Marina South
Marina South is a planning area located within the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore. It is largely home to Gardens by the Bay as well as the Marina Barrage. The name has also been used to refer to the larger peninsula the plannin ...
and
Downtown Core
The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with many integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive build ...
.
Built over
reclaimed land
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lak ...
by construction company Sato Kogyo, the bridge is made of
pre-stressed concrete
Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted i ...
and links
Tanjong Rhu
Tanjong Rhu (, ta, தஞ்சோங் ரூ) is a subzone within the planning area of Kallang, Singapore, as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The perimeter of Tanjong Rhu is made up of Nicoll Highway in the north; Mountba ...
on the east coast to
Marina Bay on the west coast.
Benjamin Sheares Bridge is the setting for the annual SAFRA Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon (formerly the Sheares Bridge Run).
It is also pictured on the rear panel of the Ship Series
S$50
banknote
A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand.
Banknotes w ...
.
[ S$50 banknote]
See also
*
List of bridges in Singapore
This is a list of flyovers, bridges and viaducts in Singapore, including those for pedestrians and vehicular traffic.
In Singapore, a "flyover" is an overpass that crosses over another road, while a "bridge" is a structure that crosses a body o ...
References
{{Coord, 1, 17, 33.37 , N, 103, 51, 43.43, E, type:landmark, display=title
Bridges in Singapore
Bridges completed in 1981
Kallang
Downtown Core (Singapore)
Marina East
Marina South
1981 establishments in Singapore