Coordinates: 1°17′16″N 103°51′14″E / 1.28778°N 103.85389°E / 1.28778; 103.85389

Esplanade Bridge
滨海桥
Official name	Esplanade Bridge
Carries	Motor vehicles and pedestrians
Crosses	Marina Bay
Locale	Downtown Core, Singapore
Design	Arch bridge
Total length	~260 m (850 ft.)
Width	~70 m (230 ft.)
Constructed by	Obayashi Corporation
Opened	1997

The Esplanade Bridge is a 260 metre-long (850 ft.) road bridge that spans across the mouth of the Singapore River in Singapore with the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay on its northern abutment and the Merlion on the southern.^[1] The 70 metre-wide (230 ft.) low-level concrete arched bridge has seven spans and supports two four-lane carriageways and walkways along both side.^[1]

The bridge was built to provide faster vehicular access between Marina Centre and the financial district of Shenton Way.^[1] Construction of the bridge began in early 1994 and was completed in March 1997.^[1] The main contractor was Obayashi Corporation. The bridge then blocked views of the Merlion statue from the Marina Bay waterfront, raising a need for the original Merlion statue to be relocated from the back to the front of the bridge.^[2]

[edit] Occasional road closures

As the bridge offers a panoramic view of Marina South and the entire Marina Bay, it is closed to all vehicular traffic so that pedestrians can watch the fireworks display during the National Day celebration and the countdown to New Year's Day on New Year's Eve. The entire length of all eight vehicular lanes will be fully packed with spectators on such nights. Street lights on the bridge are switched off right before and switched back on right after the fireworks display to offer a better viewing experience to those on the bridge.

It formed part of the Singapore Grand Prix's Marina Bay Street Circuit, which debuted on 28 September 2008, and thus had to be completely closed during the racing season.

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Esplanade Bridge

[edit] See also

• List of bridges in Singapore
• Anderson Bridge
• Benjamin Sheares Bridge

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