Bridges old and new

When our kings were building tanks with enormous stone bunds like Kala Wewa, Minneriya and Parakrama Samudra and stone bridges over rivers around Anuradhapura, in England there was only one wooden bridge over the River Thames in London. Now, there are 14 very modern bridges.

Mowanella Bridge

A stone bridge was built on the site of the old wooden bridge over the Thames in 1205 (Parakramabahu had built the Parakrama Samudra about 30 years earlier). It was the only bridge over the River Thames until 1770. Repairs kept this bridge in use until it was turn down in 1828 and the present bridge built.

When your grandmother was in school, she may have played a game singing the song "London Bridge is falling down, falling down." This song would have originated at the time the old London Bridge was in disrepair and showing signs of collapsing (falling down).

When Anuradhapura was the capital of Lanka (upto 1017 AD when the Cholas captured our king and set up their rule), there were many roads leading to the capital, from Dambakola, the port in the north, from Gokanna (Trincomalee) in the east and from Ruhuna in the south. To enter Anuradhapura, travellers had to cross the Malwatu Oya and there were bridges over this river.

Stone bridges around A'pura

A number of stone bridges have been discovered in and around Anuradhapura; some are in a poor condition, but all are looked after by the Archaeological Department. One is the well-known and fairly well preserved Gal Paalama in Anuradhapura. I was told by Prof. Kulatunga, formerly of the University of Kelaniya, that people coming from the north, from Dambakolapatuna, had to cross this bridge to enter Anuradhapura.

Like the A9 of today, the highway that connects Anuradhapura with Jaffna, in those far-off days too there was a highway, a much used road, from the port in the north (near modern Kyts) to the capital, Anuradhapura.

Princess Hemamala and Prince Danta, who brought the Sacred Tooth Relic, would have taken this road, after landing at the northern port, Dambakolapatuna; patuna is an old word for port.

There is another old stone bridge in fairly good condition at Kanadarawa near Mihintale. This bridge would have been on the road from Gokanna on the east coast to Anuradhapura. Prof. Kulatunga said many smaller bridges have been discovered in the jungles around A'pura. These, he said, would have been on minor roads leading to the capital.

The Chulavamsa records that Parakramabahu I got a bridge built across the Kala Oya for his army to march from Maya Rata to Raja Rata.

Mawanella Bridge

A stone bridge of much more recent times and still in use was built in the early 19th century - probably in the late 1820s - when Governor Edward Barnes had the Colombo - Kandy road built. This bridge is between Kegalle and Mawanella just before you enter Mawanella town, and has been in use for over 180 years, whereas many iron bridges built later than this have been replaced. This bridge is over the Maha Oya which starts in the Gampola highlands and flows through the Kegalle district and then flows dividing the Kurunegala district and the Gampaha district and falls into the sea at Kochchikade. What is special about this bridge is that it is entirely of stone - not a nail or piece of iron has been used in its construction.

A wooden bridge built by the Portuguese across the Kelani River at Malwana had surfaced very recently, in March 1980. The remnants of the bridge lay submerged (covered by water) for over three centuries and surfaced when the water level went down due to the drought, and partly due to the removal of sand from the river. The pillars of the bridge were marked with crosses.

Bridge of Boats

When Governor Edward Barnes planned to construct a road from Colombo to the old capital Kandy, there was no bridge across the Kelani River. The Governor got a pontoon or bridge of boats constructed in 1822. This was from Grandpass on the South bank of the river to Peliyagoda on the opposite bank. The pontoon was composed of 21 boats held side by side with anchors fore and aft (in front and behind). A platform was laid upon cross beams attached to the boats.

This pontoon was the only means of crossing the river. Bullock carts carrying all the tools and equipment needed for the road construction creaked their way across the river on the narrow wooden platform, and the people involved in the work crossed the river on this pontoon. The Governor's carriage must have used the pontoon bridge a few times.

One of the stone bridges in Anuradhapura

On February 1, 1832, the Colombo - Kandy mail coach crossed the river on this bridge. This was the first mail coach in Asia.

As the years passed, the authorities realised that the Bridge of Boats had outlived its usefulness. The land traffic - the carts, carriages and the men on foot - had to stop for an hour every day to allow the river traffic to pass up and down.

The pontoon could not be used during floods, often for days on end. So it had to give way to something new, and better.

So, work on the construction of an iron bridge, a little downstream from the Bridge of Boats, was started in 1892. It took three years to build and was considered an engineering feat (an action of strength and skill). The bridge was declared open on May 24, 1895, the birthday of the reigning Queen of England, Queen Victoria, and the bridge was named Victoria Bridge. Queen Victoria was Queen Elizabeth's (the present Queen) grandfather's grandmother.

For over 60 years (1895-1959), the Victoria Bridge was the only bridge across the Kelani River and was used by all vehicles going from or coming to Colombo from north of the river - from Kandy, Anuradhapura, Puttalam via Negombo.

Continued next week...

- Sumana Saparamadu.