Completed in 1956 to link two stretches of the new Nicoll Highway, Merdeka Bridge spans the Kallang Basin, near the mouths of the Kallang and Rochor Rivers. The three-lane bridge was designed by Superintending Engineer of Major Works R. J. Hollis-Bee and, together with the highway, was meant to provide a main traffic link between the city centre and the East Coast area. It was named by the Minister for Communications and Works at the time, Mr Francis Thomas, to express Singapore's aspirations towards independence.
