Ampera Bridge

a) Location and Measurement
The Ampera Bridge is a vertical lift bridge in Palembang that connects Seberang Ulu and Seberang Ilir
which lie separated by the Musi River. The bridge stands with a length of 224 meters and a span of 61 meters
with a 9-meter clearance beneath it. The bridge was built in efforts to make something as grand as the Tower
Bridge in London. Ships can no longer pass from under the bridge as it was officially declared in 1970 that
the bridge would not open anymore, a major reason for this being an inconvenient disruption of the traffic
flowing from the two regions it connects because the mere operation of the bridge’s large wings would take
about half an hour.
During the time the bridge could be opened, it would rise up at a speed of 10 meters per minute for
ships of a maximum height of 44.5 meters to pass underneath the bridge. The bridge also had ballast weights
in place to balance it, but they were removed in 1990 to prevent foreseeable accidents.
Apart from the disruption in traffic flow, the bridge was also made dysfunctional because of the dicey
foundation of the bridge which was laid on soft mud, and as the years passed by the bridge got so deformed
that it could no longer be opened, besides, large ships could no longer pass easily because of the silting of the
river.
b) History
The Ampera Bridge was inaugurated in 1965 on the 30th of September by the Minister/Commander of
the Army at the time, Lieutenant General Ahmad Yani. The date also holds significance as the Lieutenant
General was killed by the troops of the 30th September Movement, a couple of hours after the bridge was
opened to the public.
The bridge has also undergone a lot of changes. Initially, the colour of the bridge was grey which was then
changed to yellow in 1992 and further changed to red in 2002 when Megawati was the president of Indonesia.
The bridge was also called the Bung Karno Bridge, in honour of the president but was renamed to the Ampera
Bridge after his fall.
The Ampera Bridge was funded by the Japanese war reparations with the Fuji Car Manufacturing Co.
Ltd. as the company responsible for the designing and construction of the bridge under the first president of
Indonesia. The bridge was initially named after the president, known as the Bung Karno Bridge, but after his
tenure ended, the bridge was renamed to Ampera Bridge. The structure is also historically significant as at the
time, Fuji Car Manufacturing Co. Ltd. had no bridge-building experience and it was the first bridge of its kind
to be built in Indonesia.
5 Ampera Bridge Facts in Palembang
Different Color Changing up to Three Times
Ampera Bridge we see today has a color of brick red. Well, before its recent iconic color, Ampera Bridge
has experienced three color changes. The bridge was first inaugurated in 1965 and spray-painted in grey. In 1992,
the bridge’s color was changed to yellow since the previous grey paint was flaking. By 2002, Ampera Bridge
changed its color for the third time to red. This famous red color sticks to this day.
Formerly Named Bung Karno Bridge

As the Governor of South Sumatra, Brigadier General Abujazid Bustomi introduced the bridge on
November 10, 1965, Ampera Bridge was known as Bung Karno Bridge. The appointment of the name matched the
commemoration of the 20th Indonesian National Hero’s Day.
Bung Karno is acknowledged as the figure with immense contribution to the bridge’s construction. He
proposed the idea and the structure design, as well as frequently monitored the construction process directly in the
field.
Despite his contribution, the heated political atmosphere in Indonesia at that time emerged a wave of protest
from the anti-Soekarno group.
One year later, in 1966, as the bridge slowly became the pride of Palembang people, the anti-Soekarno
groups demanded to dismiss Bung Karno’s name from the bridge and change it to Ampera Bridge. In the end,
Ampera has become a name we recognize so far.
Retractable Middle Part

Seeing that the bridge stretches over the Musi River, which casually performs as a passage for large ships,
the middle part of Ampera Bridge is designed to be retractable.
The design intends to prevent Ampera Bridge from blocking the fleet of large ships that pass beneath. Thus,
the middle part of the bridge (between the two pillars) can be lifted and lowered once the ship successfully passes.
However, since it was considered to disrupt the traffic flow of the local crossing of the bridge, they
deactivated the “lifting” function of the middle part of the bridge in 1970.
Initiating Construction Design in 1906

Long before they established the bridge in 1965, the idea of building Ampera Bridge had already been
initiated during the Gemeente era in 1906.
The construction of this bridge is considered critical, given that the bridge connects the two major areas in
Palembang city; Seberang Ilir and Seberang Ulu, which are separated by the Musi River.
The Longest Bridge in ASEAN

Shortly after the establishment of the bridge in 1965, the local people of Palembang treasured Ampera
Bridge immensely, as the bridge was immediately chosen as the longest bridge in Southeast Asia. With 1,177
meters in length and 22 meters in width, Ampera Bridge was the most magnificent bridge in the ASEAN at the
time.
Besides the long freeway, Ampera Bridge rises more than 11 meters height above the water level. The height
of Ampera Bridge’s towers reaches 63 meters from the ground; hence the distance between the towers reaches 75
meters. After knowing many facts about it, are you ready to see the bridge’s grandeur soon?
Palembang’s Tourist Destinations
You can enjoy the view of Musi River from Ampera Bridge. When the dark comes, the lights seem to
support the picturesque of the river. Never forget to bring your camera to take the pictures. Visit Ampera on foot is a
good idea so that you can easily feel the wind blows from the river.
You can also see the view of this landmark from other side of Palembang, such as Benteng Kuto Besak. If
you want to buy some souvenirs, you only need to walk around 50m from Ampera Bridge and you will find markets
which sell many souvenirs from Palembang, called Pasar 16 Ilir.
Remember to enjoy the unique culinary delights of Palembang. Besides pempek, try other dishes of
Palembang. They have maksuba cakes, burgo, pindang palembang, and lempok durian. We assure you that you will
experience the best vacation of your life!

Ampera Bridge

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ampera Bridge

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ampera Bridge

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

a) Location and Measurement

Formerly Named Bung Karno Bridge

Retractable Middle Part

Initiating Construction Design in 1906

The Longest Bridge in ASEAN

Palembang’s Tourist Destinations

You might also like