Tanjong Rhu Bridge

Tanjong Rhu Bridge
Tanjong Rhu Bridge at night
Coordinates	1°17′57″N103°52′26″E / 1.299125°N 103.873756°E / 1.299125; 103.873756
Carries	Pedestrians
Crosses	Geylang River
Locale	Tanjong Rhu
Begins	Tanjong Rhu Promenade
Ends	Singapore Sports Hub
Owner	Land Transport Authority
Maintained by	Land Transport Authority
Characteristics
Material	Steel and concrete
Total length	180m
Width	4m
Height	19m
Longest span	2
No. of spans	102
No. of lanes	1
History
Designer	Public Works Department
Engineering design by	Murray North (SEA) Ltd.
Construction start	1996;29 years ago (1996) (expected)
Construction end	July 1998;27 years ago (1998-07)
Construction cost	$5.1-million SDG
Opening	4 August 1998;27 years ago (1998-08-04)
Location

Tanjong Rhu Bridge is a footbridge spanning over the Geylang River in Tanjong Rhu, Singapore. Opened in July 1998, it connects residents of various condominiums near the Tanjong Rhu Promenade to facilities in the Singapore Sports Hub, such as the National Stadium, the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the Water Sports Centre near the Kallang Basin, and other facilities.

History

External Media
Model for Tanjong Rhu Footbridge Source: The Straits Times

Tanjong Rhu was a shipyard hub until 1985 when the Singapore government forced the shipyards to either move to Jurong, close down, or comply with strict pollution regulations. ^[1]

As part of the URA's plans to redevelop the Tanjong Rhu area, it was announced in December 1997 that the S$ 5.1 million( US$ 3.05 million) bridge was to be designed by the Public Works Department with assistance from engineering firm Murray North (SEA) Ltd and restressing works by OVM Prestress, an associate company of Wee Poh Holdings who was awarded the S$ 460,000 (1997)( US$ 309,804.82) contract for the prestress. ^{[2] [3]} Construction was expected to start in 1996 and was completed in July 1998. ^{[4] [5]} The bridge was officially opened on 4 August 1998, by Koo Tsai Kee, parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of National Development. ^[5]

Details

Tanjong Rhu Bridge is a steel suspension footbridge that is 180 metres (590 ft) long, with its deck being 130 metres (430 ft) long and 4 metres (13 ft) wide. It has a 19 metres (62 ft) tall A-frame tower located on both ends of the bridge that connects the two 4.5 inches (11 cm) thick main suspension cables to each side. Connected to the suspension cables are a hundred 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick hangar cables which also connects to the bridge's deck. ^[6]

It was designed to be a suspension bridge for aesthetics rather than functionality. Normally, suspension bridges are used for wide rivers, though the PWD chose a suspension bridge design as they planned for it to be a point of interest in Tanjong Rhu, essentially "a mini-version of other famous suspension bridges in San Francisco and New York". ^[2] The bridge connects the Tanjong Rhu to the Singapore Sports Hub. ^{[5] [7]}

External links

• Infopedia article

References

1. "'Shape up or ship out'". The Straits Times . 29 June 1985. p. 12 – via NewspaperSG.
2. "Suspension bridge to link area to Kallang". The Straits Times . 12 December 1997. p. 2. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
3. "Wee Poh units win $32m jobs". The Business Times . 5 August 1997. p. 15 – via NewspaperSG.
4. Hadhi, Abdul (19 August 1994). "Coming up: new-look, upmarket Tanjong Rhu". The Business Times . p. 2.
5. "FOOT-BRIDGE LINK". The Straits Times . August 5, 1998. p. 1.
6. Nasir, Heirwin Mohd. "Tanjong Rhu Bridge". National Library Board . Retrieved 2025-07-24.
7. "The Changing Faces of Singapore – Tanjong Rhu". Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). August 2002. Archived from the original on 14 June 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2025.