Linking Nicoll Highway and Old Kallang Airport (presently headquarters of the People's Association), the Merdeka Bridge crosses the mouth of the Rochor and Kallang Rivers. It was officially opened on 17 August 1965 by the then Chief Minister, Lim Yew Hock.
Designed by the Public Works Department, the 2,000-foot structure was the longest pre-stressed bridge in Southeast Asia and took two years to complete. Merdeka Bridge provided an alternative route from the eastern part of the island to the city.
Much social and political significance is attached to this bridge. Merdeka means "independence and freedom" in Malay and the bridge was viewed as a symbol of the struggle towards sovereignty that Singapore was going through. This bridge, the first to be built after the Japanese Occupation, was a sign of Singapore's growing affluence and hope for a prosperous future.
The visual highlight of the bridge at that time were two Merdeka stone lions placed at both ends of the bridge as symbolic 'guardians' of the entrances. Sculptured by a Filipino artist int he early 1950s, the once prominent structures are now at the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute Military Institute in Upper Jurong.