Independence Arch and Chamberlain Bridge, Bridgetown

The Independence Arch is a valuable piece of architecture, which was built with the purpose of commemorating the 21st Anniversary of Barbados’ Independence. Built in 1987, it was adorned with images of National Emblems characteristic of Barbados and there are also some interesting facts referring to the Independence of Barbados inside the Arch.

The Chamberlain Bridge is a bridge in Bridgetown, the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. In 1872, it was a draw bridge or swing bridge across the marine inlet channel of the Careenage River (Constitution River) at Carlisle Bay.

The archaic steel structure was dismantled and rebuilt in 2005–2006 as a lifting bridge with the state-of the-art modern technology of an all-composite single-leaf bascule design. This design is a counterweighted bridge span that pivots upward, permitting ships to pass through an inlet channel. The bridge was built using fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP), which is lighter, long lasting and non-corrosive. There are two bridges in use in Bridgetown. The Charles Duncan O'Neal Bridge is large and modern in design, commencing from the National Heroes Square, while Chamberlain Bridge is the more "decorative humpbacked bridge" built to replace the original swing bridge after the Great Hurricane in 1898 with funds generated through the efforts of the then British Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain (1836–1914).