By Joanna HS Tan written on 26-Aug-2011
National Library Board Singapore

Comments on article: InfopediaTalk

The Merdeka Bridge spans the Kallang Basin, adjoining Nicoll Highway and providing a main traffic artery between the eastern part of Singapore and the city. Designed by R. J. Hollis-Bee of the Public Works Department, the pre-stressed bridge is 2,000ft long and 65ft wide, and cost $6.05 million to build. Named by Minister for Communications and Works Francis Thomas (merdeka is Malay for “independence”), the bridge was regarded as a symbol of Singapore’s aspirations for independence in the 1950s. It was opened by Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock on 17 August 1956. The National Heritage Board marked it as a historic site in September 2002.
 
Background
In the 1950s, there was frequent traffic congestion at the junction of Kallang, Geylang and Mountbatten Roads. During peak periods, Kallang Road carried more than 2,000 vehicles per hour in each direction. To alleviate the bottleneck, the government-appointed Kallang Basin Development Committee proposed a plan on 31 May 1953 to build a coastal road and a bridge linking Kallang to Beach Road.

The proposed site for the Kallang Bridge, as it was initially known, was located in the Beach Road reclamation area that had originally been swampland. It was occupied by about 600 charcoal and firewood traders and about 400 illegal squatters living in attap huts. Beginning in October 1954, the traders were moved to an alternative site in Tanjong Rhu, while the squatters were resettled in Singapore Improvement Trust flats at Guillemard Road in early 1955. 

Preliminary tests on the proposed site were completed in July 1954, and tenders were launched a few months later. On 24 December, a $4.5 million contract was awarded to Paul Y. Construction Company, in association with Hume Industries for the pre-stressed concrete beams, and Sime Darby for piling. The Singapore Public Works Department (PWD) would oversee the project.

Building of the bridge
Construction of the bridge began in January 1955 despite some controversy over what was seen as an unnecessarily long and therefore costly bridge design by the PWD; the acceptance of the highest tender bid; and the award of the contract to a firm without experience with the pre-stressed method. 

Designed by PWD Superintending Engineer of Major Works R. J. Hollis-Bee, the bridge cost $6.07 million and was one of the largest projects undertaken by the PWD at the time. Consisting of 25 spans of 80ft each, or a total length of 2,000ft, the bridge was designed to be long and to span mostly dry filled-in ground. A shorter bridge would have had to be built above newly reclaimed ground, which would have run the risk of ground subsidence and would have required frequent repair over the long term.

Investigations indicated that mud at the Kallang Basin site was up to 70ft deep at some points. The poor quality of the subsoil beneath the bridge therefore required the builders to drive 130ft piles for greater stability. To reduce costs, a spall base was used as a foundation for the bridge, unlike other bridges with solid block foundations. Resting on top of the piles were pre-stressed reinforced concrete beams. The pre-stressed method was new at the time, and the structure was touted as the largest pre-stressed bridge of its kind in Southeast Asia.

With a width of 65ft, the bridge could accommodate a dual carriageway as well as footpaths and cycling tracks on each side. It was designed with headroom of 10 feet to allow watercraft without masts to pass underneath.

Preparatory work for the building of the bridge began in January 1955, and the project was slated to be completed over 18 months. However, dock strikes in London delayed steel supplies for six weeks, and a local strike affected the subcontractors for the beams. In June 1956, excessive mud occurred around the road connecting the bridge with Connaught Drive, delaying the bridge opening to August. Monsoon weather and difficulties in clearing squatters from the Beach Road reclamation site caused further delays.

Naming of the bridge
On 21 June 1956, Minister for Communications and Works Francis Thomas officially named the structure Merdeka Bridge (merdeka is Malay for “independence” or “freedom”) because it represented the confidence and aspiration of the people of Singapore. The road that linked to the bridge was named Nicoll Highway after former Governor of Singapore Sir John Nicoll. The bridge came to be regarded as a significant achievement and a symbol of Singapore’s pursuit of independence. 

Opening of the bridge
Nicoll Highway and Merdeka Bridge were officially opened on 17 August 1956 by Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock. Thousands of spectators gathered at both ends of the bridge to witness the event. The 500 guests in attendance included government and religious leaders and the engineers who had worked on the bridge. The Singapore Volunteer Corps made up the guard of honour, and the Singapore Police Force Band provided music for the occasion. There were speeches by Minister for Communications and Works Francis Thomas and Acting City Council President R. Middleton-Smith, and prayers by the religious leaders present. In his speech, Lim called Merdeka Bridge “a bridge into the future”, saying that it symbolised the spirit in which Singapore would achieve independence, with “calm and thoughtful planning and through the painstaking laying of a stable solid foundation”.

At the close of the ceremony, a plane chartered by the Indian community passed over the bridge, showering the crowds with fresh rose petals and souvenir leaflets. A number of Chinese organisations presented a dragon dance and let off firecrackers while the Malay community staged a koleh procession (koleh in Malay refers to a narrow rowing craft). An official convoy of vehicles then drove from one end of the bridge towards the city before turning back at the halfway mark. This prompted excited spectators from both ends of the bridge to break through the crowd control barriers and stream across the bridge.

Further developments
Because the bridge was partly built on poor coastal soil, the bridge engineers anticipated that the structure and its foundations would experience some resettlement. In the months after its opening, the road was initially covered with a light temporary surface and motorists were instructed to drive slowly. After several months, the road was resurfaced with a permanent layer of asphalt.

Following the widening of Nicoll Highway from four to seven lanes in 1965, Merdeka Bridge was widened with three additional lanes in 1966 at a cost of $1.5 million. As part of the plan to alleviate congestion, traffic flow in the additional lanes was reversed every day, taking traffic into the city in the morning and towards the East Coast area in the evening. This reversible or “tidal” arrangement stopped in 1992, when the flexi-lanes were converted into a permanent dual carriageway of three lanes on each side. The bridge structure was subsequently strengthened to enable it to withstand heavier loads, and upgraded to include wider pedestrian walkways on both sides.

Merdeka lions
One of the distinctive features of the bridge was a pair of stone lions, dubbed the “Merdeka Lions”. Commissioned by the PWD in 1955, the majestic statues were produced in the Philippines and were positioned in a crouch and roaring, with their heads turned to the right to face oncoming traffic. The lions stood at the base of tall stone monuments of blue mosaic at each end of the bridge from its opening in 1956 until the widening of Nicoll Highway in 1966, when they were relocated to Stadium Walk, near the entrance of Kallang Park.

In 1987, several letters to the press suggested that the lions should be moved to a more appropriate site, but locations such as building entrances, steps or driveways were considered unsuitable as the statues would not face the viewer because of the orientation of their heads. The PWD later transferred the statues to the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) for eventual relocation to the future SAFTI Military Institute (SAFTI MI), which was seen as a fitting site for the lions with their symbolic qualities of courage, strength and excellence. In the meantime, MINDEF stored the statues at the old SAFTI at Pasir Laba Camp. On 22 July 1995, the lions were finally moved to the new SAFTI MI at Upper Jurong Road, where they were installed at the base of the 17-storey observation tower.

Significant events
During the 1960s Confrontation with Indonesia, saboteurs planted a bomb under the fifth span of the bridge in an attempt to blow it up on 23 May 1964. The attempt did not damage the bridge and only started a grass fire. A second attempt to blow up the bridge took place in July, but was again unsuccessful and caused only slight damage to the bridge.

In April 2004, a tunnel collapse at the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Circle Line construction site caused part of Nicoll Highway to cave in and a 24.5m section of Merdeka Bridge nearest the accident site to break off. In the immediate aftermath of the accident, the area around the bridge was closed to the public due to fears that the bridge would collapse, but it was later determined to be structurally safe. The damaged segment of the bridge was cut off to avoid putting pressure on the rest of the structure and to allow the Crawford Underpass under the bridge to be re-opened to traffic.



Author
Joanna HS Tan



References
A bridge of size. (1955, January 14). The Straits Times, p. 6. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Annual report of the Public Works Department. (1955). Kallang Basin Project (p. 40). Singapore: Printed at the Government Printing Office.
(Call no.: RSING 354.59570086 SIN)

Annual report of the Public Works Department. (1956). Kallang Basin Project (p. 20). Singapore: Printed at the Government Printing Office.
(Call no.: RSING 354.59570086 SIN)

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Bridge section to be cut off so underpass can open. (2004, April 23). The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Bridging our past (October/November 2002). Treasures of Time (p. 11). Singapore: Historic Sites and Public Education Units of National Archives of Singapore.
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Firewood, charcoal traders to move. (1954, September 6). The Singapore Free Press, p. 5. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Firewood dealers hold up new coastal road. (1956, February 4). The Singapore Free Press, p. 7. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Flexi-lanes on Nicoll Highway to go. (1992, April 28). The Straits Times, p. 19. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Hall, N. (1956, August 18). Tens of thousands turn out to cheer. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Kallang Bridge contract. (1954, December 25). The Straits Times, p. 7. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Kallang Bridge date: June 1956. (1955, January 13). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Kallang Bridge site passes first tests. (1954, July 9). The Singapore Free Press, p. 5. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Kallang Bridge will be built on this bund, then channel made. (1954, November 26). The Straits Times, p. 7. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Merdeka Bridge a 7-lane highway soon. (1966, August 5). The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Merdeka Bridge and Nicoll Highway: Opening ceremony by the Chief Minister, the Honourable Mr. Lim Yew Hock on August 17, 1956. (1956). Singapore: Government Printing Office.
(Call no.: RCLOS 624 MER)

Merdeka Bridge - pride of Singapore - opened. (1956, August 18). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Merdeka Lions get new home. (1995, August 24). The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Mud bogs down Merdeka road. (1956, June 26). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Mystery no more: Missing stone lions found at Safti. (1993, May 24). The Straits Times, p. 3. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

New coast road – Ready by July. (1955, December 27). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

$1.1 mil. houses for attap dwellers. (1954, December 30). The Singapore Free Press, p. 5. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Plan to break the bottleneck. (1953, June 1). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Preparatory work starts on the $8mil bridge. (1955, January 28). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Sabotage bid on Merdeka Bridge. (1964,July 22). The Straits Times, p. 18. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Search is on to give Merdeka lions a better home. (1987, June 15). The Straits Times, p. 15. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

$6½ m. bridge in Kallang scheme. (1953, June 2). The Singapore Free Press, p. 3. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

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Today it will rain roses on Merdeka Bridge. (1956, August 17). The Straits Times, p. 9. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

Two lions will keep watch on motorists. (1956, July 1). The Straits Times, p. 11. Retrieved August 25, 2011 from NewspaperSG.

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The information in this article is valid as at 2011 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.