Taipei Bridge
| Taipei Bridge 台北大橋 |
|
|---|---|
Taipei Bridge seen from Sanchong
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| Coordinates | 25°3′49.5″N 121°30′22″E / 25.063750°N 121.50611°ECoordinates: 25°3′49.5″N 121°30′22″E / 25.063750°N 121.50611°E |
| Carries | 6 lanes of Provincial Highway No. 1A 
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| Crosses | Tamsui River |
| Locale | Taipei and Sanchong, Taiwan |
| Maintained by | Directorate General of Highways of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Steel girder bridge |
| Total length | 481.6 meters |
| Width | 16.8 meters |
| History | |
| Construction end | 16 July 1996 (Replaced previous bridges from 1889, 1925, and 1969) |
Taipei Bridge (Chinese: 台北大橋; pinyin: Táiběi Dàqiáo; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-pak Tōa-kiô, informally 台北橋; Táiběi Qiáo; Tâi-pak Kiô) is a motor-vehicle bridge across the Tamsui River connecting Taipei with Sanchong District, New Taipei City in Taiwan. A central span carries automobile and some motorcycle traffic while narrower spans on either side carry most motorcycle traffic along with bicycle pedestrian traffic. The central bridge is 481.6 meters in length.
Qing Empire Governor Liu Mingchuan had acquired imperial approbation to develop rapid transport to the newly designated capital of the island, Taiwan-fu, which was situated in the central part of Formosa. Work building the railway started in 1887 and continued into 1893, and was to go from Keelung to Hsinchu.
As the line runs south from Twatutia, a bridge was needed to cross the Tamsui River, which was about 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) wide at Twatutia. An iron bridge was proposed by engineers but was deemed too expensive. Construction of a wooden bridge was started in 1887, and completed in 1889 by a Cantonese contractor.
The bridge, known as the Tamsui Wooden Bridge (淡水木橋; Dànshuǐ Mùqiáo; Tām-súi-bo̍k-kiô), was a (1498 chi) wooden structure designed to carry only rail traffic. Foot and horse traffic could also cross on paths on either side of the rail. However, the bridge's wood pilings required frequent repair due to periodic flooding, and an August 1897 typhoon seriously damaged the bridge.
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