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From time immemorial, Madras has had the blessings of two rivers – the Cooum and the Adyar. During monsoons, especially the Northeast, in October-December, these two rivers often played havoc with the daily life of the inhabitants. During the dry season, they were crossed by wading or fording or by boats.
To cross the river throughout the year, Governor Elihu Yale proposed in 1680 to build simple bridges across the Cooum. Thereafter, many bridges were built, but got washed away during floods – because they were built with timber platforms over timber posts and timber piles.
The earliest known bridge in Madras was built over a drainage channel west of Black Town in 1677. It was called “The New Bridge”. In 1690, Yale proposed a footbridge, of timber, to connect the Island and White Town. It was executed in 1714, long after Yale’s governorship.
As all these bridges were of timber, heavy floods in 1720 and 1721 did serious damage to five bridges. The oldest one was “Armenian Gate Bridge” that spanned a drainage channel connecting Black Town and Peddanaikpet. It had been built in 1677 using timber on brick piers and abutments.
Triplicane Bridge – there is no record of the year of its building – spanned the Cooum, connecting the Island and the village of Triplicane. It was heavily damaged in the 1721 floods. Later, a beautiful brick masonry arch bridge was built at the same location, but on a different alignment.
These arch bridges of brick masonry and chunam and arches helped to beautify Madras.
The arch bridges in Madras are:
- Single Arch over the Buckingham Canal. Large arch opening for country craft to pass through with two small ones to allow floodwater to pass.
- Three arches over Otteri Nullah
- Five arches over the Cooum.
- Seven arches of ‘Wallajah Bridge (1820) over the Elam bore River (North River), now integrated into the Buckin g ham Canal.
- Nine arches over the Adyar in Manapakkam.
- Eleven arches (St George’s Bridge) over the Cooum.
- Eighteen arches (Elphin stone Bridge) over the Adyar.
- A timber bridge near Moubray’s Garden (Madras Club) had 51 openings!
By 1840, Madras had 15 major bridges. They were:
The Government Garden Bridge or St. George’s Bridge; Commander-in-Chief Bridge; St Andrew’s Bridge; Wallajah Bridge; College Bridge or Anderson Bridge; Suspension Bridge; Munro Bridge; Burying Ground Bridge (all over the Cooum); Marmo long Bridge (over the Adyar); Benfield Bridge (over a drainage channel); Basin Bridge; Elephant Gate Bridge; Hospital Bridge (over Buckingham Canal); the Otteri Nullah Bridge; and Ca lin ga roy Bridge (over Otteri Canal).
The first street lamps in Madras Presidency were introduced in 1785. They were simple oil lamps and there were about 200 of them at the time.
It was Major De Havilland who wrote to the Road Committee, when he was building the bridge in Chintadripet, “that provision is made in the parapet walls for fixing lamp posts, and if the Committee approves of it”, he will submit an estimate for the job, and twelve lamps were finally provided for this bridge.
(To be concluded)
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An artist's sketch showing the imported suspension bridge that crossed the Cooum at Chintadripet, in 1831.
A suspension bridge the City once had
:An artist’s sketch showing the imported suspension bridge that crossed the Cooum at Chintadripet, in 1831.
A lone suspension bridge was built in 1831 at Chintadripet but, unfortunately, collapsed in 1840. Enquiry into the disaster came to the conclusion that it was because a British regiment was allowed to march over it in ‘closed formation with thumping steps’. The vibration thus created made a steel link crack and the whole bridge came down, throwing the armymen into the Cooum.
This bridge, it seems, was imported from England in 1829 and was kept in the store. It was duly erected in 1831. After the disaster, the Military Board wanted it to be erected once again over the Cooum. But the Governor turned down the idea. (Later, the Harris Bridge came up on the spot.) Again, in 1846, the Collector of Conjee varam proposed to put this up on the Mount-Poonamallee Road (present-day one near MIOT Hospital), but once again permission was refused. Thereafter what happened to the imported bridge is not known.
When I was going through the 1854 records, I stumbled upon a proposal for another ‘Suspension Bridge’ over the Cooum. Bridges were built a few times near ‘Marine Villa’ by the Cooum Bar, as it was known then. Government was keen on this.
But this location, being close to the sea, was prone to severe storms or hurricanes besides heavy floods – which destoryed a newly constructed “subscription” bridge.
The Military Board analy sed the cost and offered its opinion to the Governor-in-Council on the “re-construction of such a ‘Suspension Bridge’, that it should be compared with the bridge that was destroyed in the monsoon of 1846. (I was unable to find any information on this one.)
The cost of the probable bridge with a span of 300 feet would be high, the Board felt, as an “Iron Bridge” of 220 feet span and clear road width of 14 feet in a Calcutta yard cost Rs,16,633.
Finally, the proposal was turned down, not because of the higher cost but because it might not be safe, being so close to the sea.
So, there went a second suspension bridge from the ‘Madras sky’.
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Naming the City’s bridges
Early bridges were identified by their location, or landmarks nearby, mostly the garden houses. So, when the first bridge was built near Government Garden House it was called ‘Government Garden Bridge’ or Triplicane Bridge because the road led to Tripli cane. The next one was simply called Chintadripetta Bridge because it was built in Chinta dri pet. Another one was called Commander-in-Chief Bridge because it was near the Commander-in-Chief’s garden house.
Naming of bridges started in 1818, when the builder of the Chintadripet Bridge, Superintending Engineer Major De Havilland, suggested to the Road Committee the necessity to name the bridges. The Road Committee requested the Governor-in-Council to suggest names for two bridges and he named the one built in 1804 the ‘Government Garden Bridge’; it also be named St. George’s Bridge and the other built in 1818, the ‘Chintadri pettah Bridge’, be called ‘St. Andrew’s Bridge’.
Major de Havilland proposed to the Committee “to fix upon a name to be engraved or embossed on a stone, inserted over the centre of the arch on the outside of the parapet to the northwards.” However, these plaques were put into position by De Havilland only in 1822. Why the delay is not clear. What is clear is the writing on the plaques.
SAINT GEORGE’S BRIDGE
ERECTED BY LIEUTENANT THOMAS FRASER OF ENGINEERS
A.D. 1805
and
SAINT ANDREW'S BRIDGE
ERECTED BY MAJOR DE HAVILLAND OF ENGINEERS
UNDER THE ORDERS OF THE GOVERNMENT
THE FOUNDATION STONE WAS LAID ON 30TH APRIL 1817
AND THE LAST KEY STONE INSERTED ON SEPTEMBER 30TH.
These plaques, notably, gave due recognition to the builder
rather than the Governor.
Where are these plaques today?
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