Singapore River

Singapore River is the roughly three-kilometre river that runs from Kim Seng Bridge to Marina Bay through the city centre, and its historic mouth lies between Cavenagh Bridge and Anderson Bridge in the Downtown Core, beside the Asian Civilisations Museum. Modern Singapore was founded on its banks in 1819, and Boat Quay, built in 1823, was the island's first quay. For well over a century tongkangs, sampans, lighters and bumboats moved cargo along it. Pollution grew so heavy that Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew set a ten-year clean-up target in a speech on 27 February 1977; the clean-up was declared complete on 2 September 1987, and lighter operators were moved to upgraded facilities at Pasir Panjang. Since the dam across Marina Channel was completed in 2008, the river has flowed into Marina Reservoir.

The three bridges at the mouth were gazetted together as a national monument on 15 October 2019. Cavenagh Bridge of 1869 is the oldest surviving suspension bridge over the river, built of cast iron from Glasgow, and old signs at each end still bar cattle, horses and heavy vehicles. Anderson Bridge, opened in 1910, is a steel truss bridge, and Elgin Bridge of 1929 stands on the site of the first crossing of the 1820s. Upstream, the riverside walk leads past Boat Quay, Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay, with restaurants and bars along the banks, and bumboats carry visitors on river cruises. The nearest MRT station to Cavenagh Bridge is Raffles Place, a few minutes' walk south.