The Helix Bridge
The Helix Bridge | |
|---|---|
 The Helix Bridge lit up on its opening night in 2010, overlooked by the Marina Bay Sands hotel | |
| Coordinates | 1°17′15″N 103°51′40″E / 1.28762°N 103.861°E |
| Carries | Pedestrians |
| Crosses | Singapore River |
| Locale | Marina Bay |
| Official name | The Helix |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Steel and glass |
| Total length | 280m |
| History | |
| Designer | • Architects 61 (Singapore) • COX Group Pte Ltd (Australia) • ARUP Pte Ltd (Australia) |
| Opened | 24 April 2010 |
| Location | |
 | |
The Helix Bridge (before called the Double Helix Bridge) is a pedestrian bridge across the opening to Marina Bay in Singapore. It links the new Marina Centre with Marina South. It is located beside the Benjamin Sheares Bridge and the Bayfront Bridge, which are for vehicles (cars, etc.). It was first opened on 24 April 2010, but part of it stayed closed because of nearby construction.[1] The whole bridge was opened on 18 July 2010. It was the last link in the pedestrian walkway that goes all the way around Marina Bay. The bridge is also used as an art gallery where children's paintings and drawings are shown to the public.
The bridge was built as part of a major development plan in the area. Other projects included the huge modern-style Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino, the Singapore Flyer, the Gardens by the Bay, and a 438,000-square-metre (4,710,000 sq ft) business and financial zone. All of it was to be finished by 2012.[2]
Design and architecture
[change | change source]The team who designed the bridge included Australian and Singaporean architects. The main design idea is based on the double helix model of DNA. This can be seen best at night, when the bridge is lit up by a series of lights that show the double helix structure.[3] Pairs of coloured letters (c and g, as well as a and t) on the bridge which are lit up in red and green. They represent cytosine, guanine, adenine and thymine, the four bases of DNA.
The bridge has four viewing platforms that give views over the Singapore skyline and events happening within Marina Bay.[4]
The bridge is made of about 650 tonnes of stainless steel and 1000 tonnes of carbon steel. The construction of the bridge was done by two local engineering and construction companies. Type of bridge The Helix Bridge is a temporary Truss bridge. As you probably already know the Helix Bridge can only support living beings. The support is by triangle beams. The Helix Bridge has triangle beams because the triangle is the strongest shape for building and so they made triangle beams to support the bridge. Now it is
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Claire Huang (24 April 2010). "Marina's pedestrian bridge named "The Helix", vehicular bridge named "Bayfront Bridge"". Channel News Asia. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ↑ "World's first curved double helix bridge opens at Marina Bay on 24 April". Channel NewsAsia. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- ↑ "Bayfront Bridge - Event Night Lighting". Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- ↑ "Marina Bay - Explore Marina Bay". Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
Other websites
[change | change source]
- 360° Interactive VR image of the Helix Bridge Archived 2012-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
- New Bridge at Marina Bay Archived 2012-11-25 at the Wayback Machine
- New landmark bridge for Marina Bay Archived 2016-04-12 at the Wayback Machine
1°17′15.44″N 103°51′38.15″E / 1.2876222°N 103.8605972°E
