Waibaidu Bridge (Shanghai)

 road bridge, 1907_construction

The Waibaidu Bridge is a steel bridge on Suzhou Creek in Central Shanghai, connecting the Huangpu and Hongkou Districts, where the Suzhou creek flows into the Huangpu River. It is a 107-metre-long steel truss bridge with two 52-metre spans. It was the first true steel truss bridge in China and the only surviving example of a camelback truss bridge in China. With its rich history and uniwue design, the Waibaidu Bridge is one of the symbols of shanghai and its modern ad industrial image, and may be regarded as the city's trademark bridge.

In March 1991, the Wusong Road Bridge was built to the west of the Waibaidu Bridge to relieve traffic on the bridge. Nevertheless, the Waibaidu Bridge remains a popular sight of Shanghai and one of the few constants of the ever-changing metropolis. In mid-1999, extensive renovation works were carried out, and in 2007, the bridge celebrated its 100-year anniversary.

In March 2008, as part of an extensive reconfiguration of the Bund roadway, Waibaidu Bridge was cut into two sections, detached from its pylons, and moved by a boat into a shipyard for extensive repairs and restoration. the bridge will be rebuilt in its existing form in early 2009. After the completion of the Bund reconfiguration project, the Wusong Road Bridge will be rendered obsolete by a new tunnel and will be demolished.

There have been 4 bridges on its location:
* The Wales Bridge, a 132-metre-long wooden drawbridge which existed from 1856 to 1873.
* The Second Wales Bridge, an iron bridge built in 1971 which collapsed afterwards due to constructional faults.
* The Wooden Gardens Bridge, a 100-metre-long bridge built in 1873 and dismantled in 1906.
* The current Waibaidu Bridge

Before a bridge was built on the Suzhou Creek, citizens had to use three ferry crossings: one near Suzhou Road, one at Jiangxi Road, and one near the mouth of the Suzhou River. With Shanghai becoming an international trade port through the Treaty of Nanjing and foreign powers being granted concessions in the city, traffic between both side of the Suzhou River soared in the 1850s, increasing the need for a bridge close to the mouth of the Suzhou River.