Pulau Saigon Bridge

Today's Pulau Saigon Bridge from 1997

Today's Pulau Saigon Bridge , named after the island of Pulau Saigon , is a box girder bridge over the Singapore River in Singapore . It is located in the Singapore River planning area in the Central region .

Overview

The first bridge variant of the Pulau Saigon Bridge, which consisted of two partial bridges, was built in the 1890s and connected the then still existing island of Pulau Saigon with the two banks of the Singapore River. The bridges were demolished in 1940 and 1980 respectively, the bridge that still exists today was built a little further west in 1997.

Pulau Saigon Island

The namesake for the Pulau Saigon Bridge was the small island of Pulau Saigon (also Pulo Saigon , literally Saigon Island), which was located between today's Alkaff Bridge and Clemenceau Bridge . It was mainly used by traders as a warehouse for their goods from Indochina . As part of the land reclamation projects in Singapore, first the southwestern and then in the 1990s the southeastern arm of the river was filled in, so that the two bridges disappeared.

The bridges from 1890

The old two-part Pulau Saigon Bridge (Bridge No. 1 and Bridge No. 2) from the 1890s

The maps of Singapore around 1890 show that the Pulau Saigon Bridge consisted of two bridges called Bridge No. 1 (also called the Butcher Bridge at the time) and Bridge No. 2. Both were built in the 1890s to encourage economic activity on the island. The first connected Saigon Island to the north bank of the Singapore River and led to roads like River Valley Road and Merbau Road, and the second bridge on the other side of Pulau Saigon connected the island to roads on the south bank of the river like Havelock Road and Magazine Road.

Bridge No. 1 was demolished in 1940 and replaced by the Clemenceau Bridge ; Bridge No. 2 was demolished in 1980 because it had to make way for the new Central Expressway (CTE).

The 1997 bridge

In 1997 a new road bridge with the same name was built, but about 400 meters upstream. It is a road bridge made of steel beams. It is 43 meters long, connects Saiboo Street with Havelock Road and consists of five lanes and pedestrian paths.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Singapore River Walk , Section Pulau Saigon , page 56, website of the state's National Heritage Board, online at: roots.sg / ...
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Lim Tin Seng: Bridging History: Passengers Across Water , Bridges of the Colonial Times , Section Pulau Saigon Bridge , in: Biblioasia, Portal of the National Library Board, Singapore Government, online at: nlb.gov.sg/biblioasia/ .. .
3. ↑ A Day Out: 14 Bridges Along The Singapore River With History That's Almost Lost , article in: The Finder, online portal of SPH Magazines Women's Network (Singapore), section Pulau Saigon Bridge , online at: thefinder.com.sg/. ..
4. ↑ The Heritage Bridges - Singapore River's Grand Old Dames , sections Clemenceau Bridge and Pulau Saigon Bridge, private web (reports on geographical objects), online at: remembersingapore.org / ...

Web links

• Pulau Saigon bridge on structurae.net

Coordinates: 1 ° 17 ′ 21.9 ″  N , 103 ° 50 ′ 17 ″  E