Connaught Drive is a one-way road

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

 linking Stamford Road

Stamford Road

Stamford Road is a one-way road in Singapore within the planning areas of Downtown Core and Museum. The road continues after the traffic light junction of Nicoll Highway, Esplanade Drive and Raffles Avenue towards Orchard Road. It then ends at the junction of Fort Canning Road, Bencoolen Street...

 to Fullerton Road on the northern side of the Singapore River

Singapore River

The Singapore River is a river in Singapore with great historical importance. The Singapore River flows from the Central Area, which lies in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore before emptying into the ocean...

 within the Downtown Core

Downtown Core

The Downtown Core is a 266-hectare urban planning area in the south of the city-state of Singapore. The Downtown Core surrounds the mouth of the Singapore River and southeastern portion of its watershed, and is part of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district...

 in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. On the left side of the road, it is Esplanade Park

Esplanade Park

The Esplanade Park is a historic park located in the Esplanade within the Downtown Core of the Central Area in Singapore's central business district....

, and on the right is The Padang

Padang, Singapore

The Padang is an open field located within the Downtown Core of the Central Area in Singapore, at the heart of Singapore's central business district. It was formerly known as the Padang Cricket Ground...

. Before the Esplanade Bridge

Esplanade Bridge

The Esplanade Bridge is a 260 metre-long road bridge that spans across the mouth of the Singapore River in Singapore with the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay on its northern abutment and the Merlion on the southern...

 was opened in 1997, the road was used by vehicles from Marina Centre

Marina Centre

Marina Centre is a zone of reclaimed land within the Downtown Core in the southern part of Singapore. Together with the Marina South area, it encloses the sheltered Marina Bay....

 and Nicoll Highway

Nicoll Highway

Nicoll Highway is a major arterial road in Singapore which links Kallang to the city. En route, it passes through the areas of Kallang, Kampong Glam and Marina Centre....

 to cross the Singapore River. The road is still used by several bus services and is used as a car park on both sides on the road as well as for coach

Coach (vehicle)

A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...

 parking.

Etymology and history

In the past, Connaught Drive was known as New Esplanade Road. In 1907, the road was renamed to its present name by the Municipal Council

Municipal council

A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...

, to commemorate the visit of Queen Victoria's

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

 son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and his wife, Princess Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught

Princess Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught

Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia was a German princess, and later a member of the British Royal Family, the wife of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn...

 to Singapore in 1906. The princess

Princess

Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....

 inaugurated the clock

Clock

A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...

 in the Victoria Memorial Hall (now the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall

Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall

The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall is a complex of two buildings and a clock tower joined together by a common corridor and is located in the civic district of Singapore...

). Singapore's first pedestrian underpass, was built in 1964, linking the Queen Elizabeth Walk

Queen Elizabeth Walk

The Queen Elizabeth Walk is a promenade located along the Esplanade and bordering the Esplanade Park within the Downtown Core of Central Area in Singapore's central business district.-History:...

 in Esplanade Park under Connaught Drive as it approaches Anderson Bridge

Anderson Bridge

Anderson Bridge is a vehicular bridge that spans across the Singapore River. It is located near the river's mouth in the Downtown Core Planning Area of Singapore's Central Area....

.

Connaught

Connacht

Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...

 is one of the four provinces of Ireland, alongside Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

, Leinster

Leinster

Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...

 and Munster

Munster

Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...

.