The Esplanade Bridge is a 261-metre-long (850 ft.)

road bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

that spans across the mouth of the

Singapore River The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, althou ...

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, bor ...

with the

Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

on its northern

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

and the

Merlion The Merlion () is the official mascot of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Being of prominent symbolic nature to Singapore and Singaporeans in general, it is widely used to repre ...

on the southern.G. Chandradas, Tien Chung Ping (21 August 2008). "Bridging the gap", The Straits Times. The 70 metre-wide (230 ft.) low-level

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

arched bridge has seven spans and supports two four-lane carriageways and walkways along both sides. The bridge was built to provide faster vehicular access between

Marina Centre Marina Central or Marina Centre (Chinese: 滨海中心; ms, Marina Pusat) is a zone of reclaimed land within the Downtown Core in the southern part of Singapore. Together with the Marina South area, it encloses the sheltered Marina Bay. Sun ...

and the financial district of

Shenton Way Shenton Way is a major trunk road serving Singapore's Central Area and is most commonly known for the commercial skyscrapers flanking both sides of the road. The road is a one-way street that starts at the junction of Boon Tat Street, Raffles Qua ...

and to displace traffic from St Andrew's Road and Connaught Drive. 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. The main contractor was

Obayashi Corporation is one of five major Japanese construction companies along with Shimizu Corporation, Takenaka Corporation, Kajima Corporation, and Taisei Corporation. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is one of the Nikkei 225 corporations. Its head ...

while the street lamps were designed by Light Cibles. The bridge then blocked views of the

statue from the Marina Bay waterfront, raising a need for the original

statue to be relocated from the back to the front of the bridge."A new home for the Merlion". URAbr>''Skyline'' (July/August 2000)
. p. 6–8

Occasional road closures

The bridge offers panoramic views of

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 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 The Singapore Grand Prix; ta, சிங்கப்பூர் கிராண்ட் பிரிக்ஸ் is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The event takes place on the Marina Bay Street Cir ...

Marina Bay Street Circuit The Marina Bay Street Circuit (otherwise known as the Singapore Street Circuit) is a street circuit around Marina Bay, Singapore, encompassing the planning areas of Downtown Core (Turns 4 to 23) and Kallang (Turns 1 to 3). It is the venue for ...

, which debuted on 28 September 2008, and therefore has to be completely closed for the duration of the racing weekend.

Jubilee Bridge

The Jubilee Bridge is a bridge that is being built east of Esplanade Bridge in Singapore, which is meant to displace pedestrian traffic from Esplanade Bridge. It is located in the lower parts of the Singapore River near the Esplanade Bridge. It was opened on 29 March 2015, for the passing of

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

.Pedestrian bridge opened for the passing of Lee Kuan Yew
/ref> The bridge was first announced in 2009 and construction began in 2012. National Development Minister

Khaw Boon Wan Khaw Boon Wan (; born 8 December 1952) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Minister for Transport between 2015 and 2020, Minister for National Development between 2011 and 2015, and Minister for Health between 2003 and 2011. A mem ...

noted that the construction of such a bridge had been suggested by the late Mr Lee himself, during a 2004 visit to Marina Bay. Then, the bridge was too narrow and he thought the friendlier connection is needed. It was officially opened in November 2015. The bridge is a prestressed concrete bridge based on joists, intended for pedestrians and cyclists. The bridge is to relieve the Esplanade Bridge, which runs along it, and has only very narrow sidewalks. It was built for the 50th anniversary of the independence of Singapore (1965).

References

{{Bridges of Singapore River Bridges in Singapore Bridges completed in 1997

Occasional road closures

Jubilee Bridge

See also

References