Visit Palembang, South Sumatra: Ampera Bridge.

Ampera Bridge in the night.

Ampera Bridge is a bridge in the city of Palembang, South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Located in the middle of the city of Palembang, linking the area of upperstream (Seberang Ulu) and downstream (Seberang Ilir) separated by the Musi River Ampera Bridge has become a kind of emblem of the city.

 

The Upper Stream View of Musi River from Ampera Bridge.

Ampera Bridge is a  pride of Palembang people, South Sumatra and become a landmark for the city of Palembang.Ampera bridge is a gift for the community of Palembang from Presiden Soekarno  funded by the Japanese war compensation fund.In the past this bridge was named Bung Karno Bridge, but he did not agree. 

At first, the center of the body of this bridge can lift up so that the mast does not get caught passing underneath the bridge body. The middle part of the bridge can be removed by mechanical means, two pendulum weights each of about 500 tons in the two towers.The speed of about 10 meters per minute to the total time required to lift full-bridge for 30 minutes.

When the central part of the bridge is lifted, vessels of 60 meters wide and with a maximum height of 44.50 meters, can pass to the Musi River. When not lifted, the maximum tall ships could pass under the bridge only nine meters from the surface of the river water. Since 1970, the bridge shall no longer be increased or decreased. The reason, the time used to lift the bridge, which is about 30 minutes, is considered disturbing the flow of traffic between Seberang Ulu and Ilir, Palembang two areas separated by the Musi River.

Another reason because there is no large ship can sail on the river Musi. Sedimentation is getting worse causing Musi River not navigable for large boats. Until now, sedimentation in the Musi River is steadily still going strong. In 1990, two pendulum weights for raising and lowering the center of the bridge, each weighing 500 tons, dismantled and lowered for fear that if at any time it fell and hit passers-by on the bridge.The view of Ampera Bridge during solar eclipse on March 9, 2016  is shown the following video.