Upper Cross Street, Singapore

Upper Cross Street, Singapore (29 July 2017)

Upper Cross Street is a street in Outram, Singapore. The one-way street starts at the intersection with South Bridge Road, from which Cross Street continues. It heads in the northwest direction, across New Bridge Road and Eu Tong Sen Street. The northern end of Upper Cross Street was recently renovated to improve on traffic dispersal out of the city center. Upper Cross Street flows into Havelock Road and the subterranean section of the Central Expressway.

Upper Cross Street has been around since the early 19th century. Under the original Jackson Plan for Singapore, it was supposed to be the western limits of Chinatown, which at that time was planned to occupy the area from Boat Quay to Cross Street and Upper Cross Street. However, since then Chinatown has expanded all the way to Cantonment Road. The street has been called by various names including Hai San Street, after the Hai San secret society, and Kling Street after the Indian (called kalinga by the locals, after the Kalinga Kingdom of south India) community that used to live there.