The Bridges of Tamparuli

What can u best describe Tamparuli? I asked myself. Tamparuli is a small town and a sub-district of Tuaran in the west coast of Sabah. Tamparuli is located 42 km from Kota Kinabalu.

How many major bridges in Tamparuli? I asked myself again. Read through some articles, asking through some source and here is my conclusion. There are three major bridges. Yeaa..I have seen them. The oldest bridge is actually the low bridge that you can see below the new hanging bridge. It is built by the British colonies in early 1930s. It is one of concrete bridge that was able to survive even there is a big flood back in 1999. When you leave Tamparuli town, there will be two separate ways and on the left side is the way to Kiulu-Pukak and the right side is the way to Tuaran-Kota Kinabalu.

The second bridge is the new suspension bridge which built in early 1980s. You can see it if you are traveling to Kundasang from Tamparuli. This bridge is built after the low bridge is flooded The new suspension bridge is a solution to make vehicles and pedestrians' life easier. At that time Datuk Harris Salleh is the Chief Minister of Sabah. It is the second way for a vehicle to enter this small town apart from the low bridge.

The 3rd bridge is the new hanging bridge which quit near to the low concrete bridge. When you are leaving Tamparuli town, you will see the low bridge at the left side.

Back in 1970s, a Kadazandusun song is describing about a hanging bridge and a young girl who accidentally lost her shoe while crossing it. "Jambatan Tamparuli" by Justin Lusah well known by Malaysian especially Sabahan. So,which of this three major bridges is the real "Jambatan Tamparuli" that mention in the lyric of Justin Lusah's song? Sometimes people mistakenly the new hanging bridge as the bridge. But the real bridge is washed away by the hurricane flood in 1999. It still exist until the big flood damage it and until now the bridge is never been rebuilt.


p/s May be Tamparuli is a small town but it is full of stories hidden inside it. (^_^)V