These 3 River Bridges Tell Singapore’s History — And One Will Have F1 Cars Zooming Through It

This weekend, Formula 1 (F1) cars will literally race through a National Monument during the Singapore Grand Prix. Yes, they'll be vrooming straight through Anderson Bridge, located between Turns 12 and 13 of the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Now, Anderson Bridge is not a National Monument on its own; in fact, it is just one of three bridges – Cavenagh, Anderson, and Elgin – that have been collectively gazetted as one National Monument known as the Singapore River Bridges. But Anderson has its own modern side hustle as part of the F1 race circuit in Singapore.

To be honest, I know basically nothing about F1. My knowledge starts and ends somewhere with the du du du, Max Verstappen meme.

But old Singapore landmarks? That I can work with.

Overview

• Official name: Singapore River Bridges (Cavenagh Bridge, Anderson Bridge and Elgin Bridge)
• Location: Across the Singapore River, around the Civic District and Boat Quay
• Cavenagh Bridge completed: 1869
• Anderson Bridge completed: 1909; officially opened in 1910
• Current Elgin Bridge opened: 1929
• Year gazetted collectively as a National Monument: 2019
• Nearest MRT stations: Raffles Place, City Hall and Clarke Quay
• Admission: Free
• Best explored: On foot along the Singapore River

Why the Singapore River Bridges are worth a second look

Like me, you've probably walked around the Singapore River plenty of times, and just saw the bridges as pretty functional structures. You cross one to get to the other side; done.

But after learning more about them, I realised these three bridges essentially show how Singapore’s infrastructure evolved as the city grew: Cavenagh Bridge was built from cast iron in the 1860s; Anderson Bridge followed with steel at the turn of the 20th century; then Elgin Bridge arrived with reinforced concrete in the 1920s.

Put together, they trace the development of bridge-building technology from the 19th to 20th centuries, while also showing just how quickly traffic and trade around the Singapore River were growing. This F1 weekend, one of them gets race cars driving through it at breakneck speed.

Quite the glow-up.

Cavenagh Bridge between 1869 and 1900. | IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/@THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES UK

Cavenagh Bridge: the one with a 152kg weight limit

Cavenagh Bridge (completed in 1869), the oldest suspension bridge over the Singapore River, connected Commercial Square (now Raffles Place) on the southern bank to the government district on the northern bank. Before its construction, people used a ferry and a temporary footbridge to cross the river.

IMAGE: NG KAI

The bridge's strength was tested before it was shipped to Singapore by loading it with a weight four times its own. It was manufactured by P & W MacLellan (the same company that built Telok Ayer Market, also known as present-day Lau Pa Sat). After installation, Madras sepoys (Indian soldiers in British colonial service) marched across it to ensure its stability.

So where did it get its name? From Sir William O. Cavenagh (Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1859-1867), the last Governor before Singapore's administrative shift from India to London in 1867.

IMAGE: NG KAI

What to look out for at Cavenagh Bridge

Signs with weight limits

Today, you can still spot an old sign at either end of the bridge, banning cattle, horses and vehicles weighing more than 3 hundredweight (CWT) – around 152kg – from crossing.

IMAGE: NG KAI

Cavenagh family crest

At the top of both ends of the bridge, you can still spot the Cavenagh family crest.

Anderson Bridge circa 1930. | IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/@ANONYMOUS

Anderson Bridge: from relieving traffic to hosting F1 cars

By the turn of the 20th century, Singapore had a (good) problem. Trade around the river boomed, traffic increased, and Cavenagh Bridge simply wasn’t built to cope with the growing number of motor cars and electric trams. So Anderson Bridge was constructed between 1908 and 1910 to take the heavier traffic.

IMAGE: NG KAI

It became Singapore’s first steel bridge, with steel offering greater strength than the iron commonly used in earlier bridge construction. Its three arches were designed to carry much heavier vehicular loads across the river.

Safe to say they probably weren’t thinking about F1 cars; yet more than a century later, here we are.

Anderson Bridge has been part of the Marina Bay Street Circuit since the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix in 2008. The race route takes drivers through its arches between Turns 12 and 13.

It was named after Sir John Anderson, Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States from 1904 to 1911. Anderson played a pivotal role in establishing Singapore as a major global shipping port. He stabilised the island’s currency by fixing it to the gold standard (a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold) and championed the creation of public back lanes to improve sanitation and reduce overcrowding.

Anderson also presided over the opening of Victoria Memorial Hall.

What to look out for at Anderson Bridge

Even without F1 cars flying through it, Anderson Bridge is the most visually dramatic of the three.

IMAGES: NG KAI

The fancy details

The bridge uses a steel truss-girder design, with diagonal structural members running along its sides. Standing beneath them makes the scale much more obvious, and also explains why footage of F1 cars squeezing through here looks so distinctive.

Bronze lamps adorn the arches, adding to its architectural elegance. And don't forget the cast-iron latticework, granite pedestrian archways, and fluted piers.

The bridge spans 61.2m and features two roadways, each 7.5m wide. Its structural steelwork was manufactured in Britain and shipped to Singapore.

The names of key contributors to the construction of Anderson Bridge were engraved on a stone imported from Aswan, Egypt, which is mounted at the end of the central girder facing Victoria Memorial Hall.

It's very elaborate for something whose job is essentially the same as every other bridge: get everyone across the river. But hey, it makes for sexy shots of the F1 cars at that stretch.

Elgin Bridge in the 1960s. | IMAGE: FACEBOOK/@HERITAGE SG MEMORIES

Elgin Bridge stands where Singapore’s first bridge once did

The earliest bridge across the Singapore River was constructed between 1822 and 1823 at the location where Elgin Bridge currently stands. It was a wooden footbridge known as Presentment Bridge, or Monkey Bridge.

Elgin Bridge only opened in 1929, and it is actually the fifth bridge built on the same site.

Its location also gave us two extremely familiar road names: North Bridge Road and South Bridge Road, named according to which side of the bridge they were on. To be honest, I never noticed how literal the names were until now.

IMAGE: NG KAI

What to look out for at Elgin Bridge

Elgin Bridge is a reinforced concrete bridge spanning about 42.6m across the Singapore River. It features three steel bowstring arches encased in concrete and comprises two almost 8m roadways separated by a central girder. The bridge is supported by six reinforced concrete caissons, three on each riverbank, and is held together by struts and hangers.

IMAGE: NG KAI

Compared with Anderson Bridge’s exposed steelwork, Elgin Bridge feels heavier and more solid.

IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/@CHAINWIT.

IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/@YEOWATZUP

Signs of Singapore's colonial history

My favourite details were the bridge’s decorative elements, including medallions featuring a lion and palm tree (symbolising old Singapore) and cast iron lamps, crafted by Italian sculptor Rudolfo Nolli. The lion and palm tree symbol were part of the Municipal crest, which can also be found at Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall and Central Fire Station.

This weekend, Anderson Bridge becomes an F1 track

The Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2026 runs from 9 to 11 October, turning the Marina Bay area into a race circuit once again. Anderson Bridge is one of the heritage landmarks sitting directly within that circuit; which is probably the F1 fact most likely to stick in my brain.

I still can't tell you who's likely to win the race. But when the broadcast cuts to a car flying beneath those steel arches? At least I can point at the screen and go: “I know that bridge.”

If you’re watching F1 this weekend, spare Anderson Bridge a glance between the vrooms. Because while the cars racing through it may be cutting-edge, the road beneath them has been there for 116 years.

Basically, Anderson Bridge walked so F1 could vroom.

Wait, what makes something a National Monument?

In Singapore, National Monuments are buildings, structures or sites recognised for their national significance and value to our built heritage. They are gazetted by the Preservation of Sites and Monuments, a division of the National Heritage Board, which is why the title is reserved for places that carry especially important historical, architectural, social or cultural meaning.

As of 2026, Singapore has 77 National Monuments. Some are obvious landmarks, like the Padang, St Andrew’s Cathedral and Fort Siloso. Others are places you may have walked past without a second thought, which is exactly why this series exists.

One National Monument at a time, we’re here to uncover the stories hiding in plain sight.

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