In 1840, a brick bridge joining Old Bridge Road and Hill Street over the Singapore River was constructed and called Coleman Bridge. The bridge had nine arches, and was designed by and named after George Drumgoole Coleman(1795–1844), an Irish Architect and Singapore's first architect. It was referred to as the New Bridge, lending its name to the road on its southern end — New Bridge Road.
In 1865, the brick bridge was replaced by one made of timber but was not well constructed. It cost about Straits $10,000 and was built by the government. In 1886, an iron bridge was built to replace the wooden one. This iron bridge was considered one of the most attractive spanning the Singapore River. It stood for about a century, but was unable to cope with the increasingly heavy traffic flow between New Bridge Road and Hill Street.
The iron bridge was finally demolished in 1986 and replaced with the present concrete bridge. However, several features of the iron bridge such as the decorative lamp posts and iron railings were incorporated into the current structure, in recognition of its historical significance.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleman_Bridge,_Singapore
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