Ulapane Fool’s Bridge (Upside Down Bridge) – උලපනේ මෝඩයාගේ පාලම (උඩ යට පාලම)

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This awkwardly named Fool’s Bridge lies across the mighty Mahaweli River in the town known as Ulapane in Matale. The uniqueness of this bridge is the side arches generically found on steel bridges are built at the bottom of the bridge. Thus this is known as the “Fool’s Bridge” or the “Upside Down Bridge”.

Shortly after the British occupation of the Kandyan area plantation crops such as coffee, tea and rubber were introduced by the British. The need to construct a bridge was felt to cross over Mahaweli river at Ulapane. Work on this bridge has been started in 1903 by the Public Works Department and was open to the public on 2nd November 1904 by the British. This bridge with arch shaped structures measured 66.46 metres (216 ft.) in length and 3.08 metres (10 ft.) in width.

Folklore states that when a British high official came to ceremoniously open this bridge and saw that the bridge has been built upside down, the engineer was made so embarrassed that he committed suicide.  The British has then built another bridge upstream at a later date to replace this bridge. But in reality, it is said that arch structure at  the bottom makes the bridge more load bearing and not a mistake. Such bridges are called a Inverted Bowstring Truss type bridge.

After decades of use of this second bridge, a new concrete bridge has been built around 2015. This is said to be the only place that three road bridges over Mahaweli River exists in a single location. Part of a 4th bridge also can be seen very close to the “Modayage Palama” (Fool’s Bridge).  It is said that when the Mahaweli Project was going on, the Mahaweli Authority started to build a bridge next to the Fools Bridge but after one side was completed, it was abandoned.

Although a good view of this bridge can be seen from the new bridge, its best seen from from the train. The path to this bridge is now covered with weed and difficult to access.

References

1. Abeyawardhana, H. A. P. (2004) Heritage of Kandurata: Major Natural, Cultural, and Historic Sites. Kandy: Kandurata Development Bank, in association with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Also See

• Attractions of Sri Lanka
• Heritage of Sri Lanka
• Waterfalls of Sri Lanka
• Nature and Wildlife of Sri Lanka
• Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity

Map of  Ulapane Fool’s Bridge (Upside Down Bridge)

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