It’s arguably one of the most beautiful bridges in the world.
In this post, you’ll discover the ultimate list of facts about the Helix Bridge, one of the most stunning buildings in Singapore.
1. It’s located in the Marina Bay Area
The Helix Bridge is located right into the most popular area in Singapore. It connects Marina Centre with Marina South in the Marina Bay area in Singapore. This area is referred to as the “New Downtown” of Singapore and was built on reclaimed land.
Other famous landmarks in the area are Marina Bay Sands, the famous hotel & casino once dubbed as “the most expensive building in the world,” Gardens by the Bay, a beautiful garden with the popular supertrees, the Singapore Flyer, and Merlion, the famous statue and fountain which is one of the ultimate symbols of Singapore.
2. It has a couple of other names
The original name of the bridge was the “Double Helix Bridge” and it’s commonly referred to as the “Helix Bridge.” The official name of the bridge, however, is just “The Helix.”
3. It’s accompanied by another bridge
The reason it was originally called the “Double Helix Bridge” is that it’s accompanied by another bridge. The Helix Bridge is a pedestrian bridge and the bridge right next to it is called the Benjamin Sheares Bridge.
This bridge allows vehicular traffic and is the longest and highest bridge in Singapore with a length of 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) and a maximum height of 29 meters (95 feet).
It was named after Dr. Benjamin Henry Sheares, the second president of the Republic. This man died just 4 months before the bridge was opened on September 26, 1981.
4. It took 3 years to complete the Helix Bridge
The construction of the Helix Bridge started in the year 2007 and wasn’t completed until 3 years later. The official opening date of the bridge was July 18, 2010.
One of the most interesting facts about the Helix Bridge construction is that a temporary truss bridge had to be built in order to provide access for construction and access to the Bay through the navigation channel.
5. The bridge was modeled on DNA structure
The bridge has been praised for its unique design, which resembles a DNA structure. It has won the award for being the “World’s Best Transport Building” and multiple other awards in the year 2011 and its design has been claimed to be the world’s first as well.
The bridge contains two pairs of letters, c and g, as well as a and t. These represent cytosine, guanine, adenine, and thymine, the building blocks of DNA.
These letters are lit up at night in red and green as well.
6. It was designed by world-renowned architectural firms
The bridge was designed by a consortium of international and local architects and engineers. One of the firms working on the project was Cox Architects, an Australian-based company that has completed numerous important structures in their home country, as well as the Singapore Expo in 1999.
Architects 61 from Singapore also worked on the project, as well as Arup, a multinational professional services firm with headquarters in London.
This firm has been involved in amazing projects for decades, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Shard in London, as well as Marina Bay Sands in Singapore!
One of the most interesting facts about the Helix Bridge is that Arup was also involved in the construction of The Millennium Bridge in London. This, however, wasn’t a very big success as it was instantly dubbed as the “Wobbly Bridge” after it appeared to be unstable shortly after its opening. This resulted in the bridge being closed for nearly 2 years to improve its structural design.
7. It offers stunning views of the Singapore skyline
One of the most fascinating facts about the Helix Bridge is that it offers amazing views of the Singapore skyline. Because of this, special cantilevered “viewing pods” were integrated into the construction.
These observation decks can be accessed by up to 100 people at a time and also offer front-row seats so to speak for water events when they take place near the Downtown Core of Singapore.
8. The Helix Bridge looks magical at night
The structural curves of the tubes that make up the design of the Helix Bridge are accentuated by the lights that were attached to it. This provides for some stunning views, especially when you cross the bridge at night.
There’s hardly a better place in the world for a relaxing evening walk, don’t you think?
Quick facts about the Helix Bridge
9. The Helix Bridge has a total length of 280 meters (919 feet), even though the span over the water is just 50 meters (164 feet).
10. It consists of 5 main spans, 3 spans have a length of 65 meters (213 feet) and 2 spans a length of 45 meters (147 feet).
11. If all the curved steel that was used in the bridge’s design would be stretched out, it would have a total length of 2,250 meters (7,300 feet).
12. The bridge was fabricated with 650 tonnes of Duplex stainless steel, and 1,000 tonnes of carbon steel. The total weight of the bridge is 1,700 tonnes.
13. The Helix Bridge was featured in the third season of the HBO science fiction television series Westworld, which stars Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, and Anthony Hopkins, to name a few.
14. The DNA-like design was created left-handed, which is the opposite of the real DNA sequences. This earned the bridge a spot in the “The Left-Handed DNA Hall of Fame” in 2010.
15. The Helix Bridge was opened in style with a huge firework display on April 24, 2010, which was the partial opening of the bridge. Needless to say that this looked simply amazing!
