Iconic steel bridges along Rail Corridor up for conservation

SINGAPORE — Two iconic steel bridges along the Rail Corridor are up for conservation and could be gazetted by the end of the year or early next year.

One bridge is located near the Rail Mall at Upper Bukit Timah Road, and the other is near the Bukit Timah Railway Station on Bukit Timah and Dunearn Road. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has proposed that the two bridges be conserved.

“They are endearing local landmarks and identity markers that capture Singapore’s railway history and heritage, and provide seamless connectivity for Rail Corridor users today,” the URA said in its press release, after Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong made the announcement today (Nov 9).

Members of the public may provide their comments on the proposal for a month, with the bridges to be gazetted as conserved structures thereafter.

The two steel truss bridges were opened in 1932 and were built as part of the re-aligned former Keretapi Tanah Melayu railway line south of Bukit Panjang in 1930, the URA said.

A truss is a structure of elements that form triangular units. The bridges are two of the four remaining steel truss bridges in Singapore, and are widely photographed by users of the Rail Corridor. They were designed by United Engineers, one of Singapore’s pioneer engineering companies. The bridge in Bukit Timah is 45m long, while the one on Upper Bukit Timah Road is 60m long.

Design teams participating in the Rail Corridor concept master plan were also required to consider design solutions for the two bridges to facilitate safer crossings for different users, and recapture the Rail Corridor’s sense of place and memory.