Chadchart's bold bridge plan

City's second pedestrian bridge across river to link Old Town, Klong San, writes Supoj Wancharoen

- 

An aerial concept rendering of the proposed Phraya River Pedestrian Bridge, a walk-and-cycle crossing and potential new urban landmark.BANGKOK METROPOLITAN ADMINISTRATION

On today's fashionable Song Wat Road, where century-old shophouses have lately been reborn as cafes and design studios and the Chao Phraya River slips quietly past, a bridge exists — for now — only on paper.

For Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, however, the proposed pedestrian bridge linking Song Wat in Bangkok's Old Town area to the Klong San district on the Thon Buri side is far more than an architectural sketch.

It is part of a broader ambition to redefine how Bangkok is experienced, remembered and navigated, by both residents and visitors.

Few people realise that shortly after winning the 2022 gubernatorial election, Mr Chadchart assigned Chulalongkorn University to study and design the project.

The work has continued quietly throughout his term, driven by a belief that Bangkok needs a new global landmark.

The proposal calls for a pedestrian-and bicycle-only bridge spanning the Chao Phraya River, linking the Phra Nakhon side at the former Sawasdee Pier on Song Wat Road in Samphanthawong district with the Thon Buri side at the former Wat Thong Thammachart Pier in Klong San district.

Both piers closed years ago, their relevance fading even before the pandemic as commuters gravitated toward more accessible nearby piers.

Strategically, the bridge would sit between the Phra Pok Klao Bridge and the King Taksin Bridge, both major road crossings, creating a long-missing human-scale connection between the two sides of the river.