Zhejiang Road Bridge

Zhejiang Road Bridge

Zhejiang Road Bridge is a municipal-level cultural heritage site in Shanghai.

Zhejiang Road Bridge

Commonly known as the Old Garbage Bridge, it is located on the Suzhou River in downtown Shanghai, China. It connects Zhejiang Middle Road in Huangpu District to the south and Zhejiang North Road in Zhabei District to the north. It is one of the few remaining old fish-belly style simply-supported steel truss bridges in China and is considered a national treasure. In 2014, it was designated as a municipal-level cultural heritage site in Shanghai.

In October of the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign (1906), the Municipal Council demolished the wooden bridge and replaced it with a fish-belly style simply-supported steel truss bridge. The substructure consists of timber pile foundations and gravity-type abutments. The new bridge is 59.74 meters long and 13.9 meters wide. In the 34th year of the Guangxu reign (1908), a single-track tram line was laid on the bridge, carrying tram routes 5 and 6 operated by the British Electric Tramway Company. In the 13th year of the Republic of China (1924), to enable two-way tram traffic, the single track was modified—meanwhile, the wooden deck was replaced with a cement concrete surface, and the sidewalks were upgraded with precast cement concrete slabs. In the 35th year of the Republic of China (1946), the bridge underwent painting and maintenance.

In 1954, the abutments were widened. In 1955, the crossbeams were reinforced. In 1965, the bridge structure was repaired and reinforced. In 1974, the abutments were heightened and the deck was elevated; the tram tracks were removed and replaced with trolleybus lines; the sidewalks were converted into bicycle lanes, and new sidewalks were added on both sides. In 1986, the entire bridge underwent major repairs. In 1993, the bicycle lanes were reinforced. In 1997, the bridge underwent reinforcement design and construction. In 2008, the bridge was reinforced, parts were replaced, rust was removed, and it was repainted, with asphalt paving completed in January 2009. On April 18, 2015, Shanghai’s century-old Zhejiang Road Bridge was officially closed for relocation and major repairs. Its steel frame structure was moved to a site about 100 meters away to be restored “as it was originally.” Nine months later, the bridge returned to its original location, with an expected service life of another 50 years.

On April 4, 2014, the Shanghai Municipal People's Government approved and announced Zhejiang Road Bridge as a municipal-level cultural heritage site in Shanghai (Hu Fu Fa [2014] No. 29).