The Merdeka Bridge ( Chinese: 独立桥, Malay: ''Jambatan Merdeka'') is a

vehicular A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velomobiles), animal-power ...

and

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the '' sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British En ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

located in

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

in the south-eastern part of

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. It spans the

river mouth A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current, reducing the carryin ...

s of the

Kallang River The Kallang River (, ) is the longest river in Singapore, flowing for 10 kilometers from the Lower Peirce Reservoir (originally named "Kallang River Reservoir") to the Kallang Basin. It originates in the Planning Areas of Singapore, planning ar ...

and Rochor River, which empty into the Kallang Basin. Designed by R. J. Hollis-Bee of the then

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

(now CPG Corporation), the bridge was officially opened on 17 August 1956. The Merdeka Bridge carries

Nicoll Highway Nicoll Highway ( , , , ) is a major arterial road in Singapore which links the junctions of Guillemard Road, Sims Way and Mountbatten Road in Kallang to the junctions of Esplanade Drive, Raffles Avenue and Stamford Road in the city. En route, ...

, a semi-expressway connecting Kallang with the Singapore downtown.

Etymology

The bridge was named Merdeka Bridge by Minister for Communications and Works Francis Thomas as

Merdeka ''Merdeka'' ( Jawi: ; , ) is a term in Indonesian and Malay which means "independent" or " free". It is derived from the Sanskrit ''maharddhika'' (महर्द्धिक) meaning "rich, prosperous, and powerful". In the Malay Archipelag ...

means "

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

" in Malay and to represent the confidence and aspiration of the people of Singapore. It also represents Singapore's freedom and independence after partial self-government was given by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in 1955.

History

Merdeka Bridge provides a main link between the east coast and the city via the

Merdeka Lions

The bridge's only attributes were the two stone lions guarding its two ends, known as the Merdeka Lions. Each lion had its back positioned, facing a tall blue mosaic monument adorned with the crest of the City of Singapore at the top. These sculptures were designed initially by the Public Works Department's L W Carpenter and contracted to Hong Kong based Italian sculptor and stone supplier Raoul Bigazzi. Mr Bigazzi had them made by a student of his in Manila in the Philippines. The identical pair were shipped here, towards the end of the bridge's construction. In 1966, the lions were removed to allow the widening of Nicoll Highway as well as the bridge. As a result, the two sculptures were then relocated to Stadium Walk. The statues were left abandoned at their location for the next three decades. After numerous suggestions from the public to move the twin sculptures to an appropriate site, the Public Works Department took the statues into storage. The PWD later transferred these statues to the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

in 1986. With the intention to install them in the then future SAFTI Military Institute located in

Jurong West Jurong West is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential town located in the West Region, Singapore, West Region of Singapore. Jurong West shares Wiktionary:boundary, boundaries with Tengah, Singapore, ...

. In 1995, the two lions were moved by the ministry to the bottom of the SAFTI Tower at the institute, where they have remained since. A pair of exact replicas were made in 2019 and installed at Stadium Roar at Singapore's National Stadium.

References

External Media

* Norman Edwards, Peter Keys (1996), ''Singapore - A Guide to Buildings, Streets, Places'', Times Books International,
Infopedia article on the Merdeka Bridge
{{Authority control Bridges completed in 1956 Bridges in Singapore Kallang 20th-century architecture in Singapore