Alkaff Bridge
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Alkaff Bridge (Chinese: 阿尔卡夫行人桥) is a pedestrian bridge in Singapore. It spans the Singapore River at Robertson Quay, located in the Singapore River Planning Area within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.
The steel truss bridge is 55 metres in length and weighs about 230 tons. It is shaped like a tongkang (a light boat used commonly in the early days to carry goods along rivers), and is situated near the former Alkaff Quay. Alkaff Quay was named after a prominent Arab family, the Alkaffs, who were among the wealthiest in Singapore during the early 20th century.
The Alkaff Bridge was built in 1997, as part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) plan to create a promenade along both banks of the Singapore River which was completed in 1999. The bridge is one of three footbridges — Alkaff Bridge, Robertson Bridge and Jiak Kim Bridge — built at Robertson Quay to improve the pedestrian connectivity between the two river banks.
The Alkaff Bridge was painted in January 2004 in vibrant colours by Filipino artist Pacita Abad (1946-2004) and a team of rope specialists. The artist and her crew of helpers used 52 different colours and more than 900 litres of industrial-strength paint to transform the bridge into Singapore's first "Bridge of Art".
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