Tamil Nadu Timeline

InfrastructureBritish Crown rule

Napier Bridge built over the Cooum

· Napier Bridge

Napier Bridge built over the Cooum
Saiphani02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Planned by Governor Lord Napier, a cast iron lattice bridge went up over the Cooum's mouth, joining Fort St. George to the Marina side.

Francis Napier, Governor of Madras, drew up plans in 1868 for a crossing at the point where the Cooum River meets the sea. Built in 1869 as a cast iron lattice structure, it linked Fort St. George, to the north, with the far side of the city. Because of corrosion it gave way in 1909 to a bridge carried on large iron girders, which was itself reconstructed in 1944. In 1999 a new concrete bridge was built alongside, to the west of the old one. The Napier Bridge is still one of the city's landmarks.

Related events

  1. 1862

    1. 26 Jun 1862Madras High CourtLaw Justice

      Madras High Court established

      Crown Letters Patent created the High Court of Judicature at Madras in place of the Supreme Court of Madras.

  2. 1869

    1. 1869ChennaiInfrastructure

      Carnatic Railway Company founded

      Founded in 1869, the Carnatic Railway Company combined with the Great Southern of India Railway in 1874 to create the South Indian Railway.

  3. 1873

    1. 1873Chennai CentralInfrastructure

      Madras Central railway station built

      Designed by George Harding and later altered by Robert Chisholm, Madras Central station was put up by the Madras Railway as its terminus in the city.

  4. 1874

    1. Apr 1874 to 1879Senate House, ChepaukEducation

      Senate House of the University of Madras completed

      Built from 1874 to 1879 to a design by Robert Chisholm, the Senate House on the Marina was an early Indo-Saracenic landmark.

  5. 1876

    1. 1876Puzhal LakeInfrastructure

      Red Hills (Puzhal) reservoir built for Madras

      The Puzhal reservoir at Red Hills was built to supply water to Madras, and remains one of the city's main reservoirs.

  6. 1877

    1. 1877 to 1878Buckingham CanalInfrastructure

      Buckingham Canal extended as famine relief

      A section of the coastal canal linking the Adyar and Cooum rivers was dug as famine relief work, and the canal was renamed the Buckingham Canal.

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