The original wooden bridge was built during British rule in 1870–71 at a cost of approximately £54,920. But due to the devastating flood of 1875, a large part of the bridge, except the two ends, collapsed. Then in 1892, engineer Himmatlal Dheerajram Bhachech designed a new steel bridge. This bridge was named Ellis Bridge after the then Commissioner of Northern Division, Sir Borough Halbert Ellis. Steel for the bridge was procured from Birmingham. Himmatlal completed the construction of this bridge for Rs 4,07,000, which was much less than the proposed Rs 5,00,000. This made the government suspect that substandard materials might have been used in the construction. A committee was formed to investigate and the investigation proved that Himmatlal had used only high quality materials. Appreciating his work, the government honored him with the title of ‘Rao Saheb’. On 8 March 1930, thousands of people gathered at Ellis Bridge to witness the announcement of Dandi Satyagraha by Mahatma Gandhi. Subsequently, plans to demolish the bridge were rejected in 1973, 1983 and 1986. Ultimately, in May 1989, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation declared the Ellis Bridge and the surrounding area, including the Manek Burj and the Sabarmati River drainage system, as a protected area. The original Ellis Bridge, being small in width, was unable to meet the needs of the increasing traffic, so it was closed to vehicles in 1997. Subsequently, new bridges were constructed on both sides at a cost of about Rs 180 crore in 1999 and the old bridge was preserved as a historical monument. After the construction process was completed, Manek Burj and Ganesh Bari were rebuilt keeping in mind the need for expanded space. The newly constructed bridge was named Swami Vivekananda Bridge. Due to the increasing pollution of Sabarmati River, the problem of rusting of steel pillars of Ellis Bridge had arisen. Experts appointed to strengthen the bridge suggested in 2012 that it would be more cost-effective to build a new bridge than to repair the existing bridge, so they recommended demolishing it. A plan to run Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) buses on the new bridge was also being considered. There was also a proposal to preserve the distinctive steel arches of the old bridge and reinstall them in the new bridge. However, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation later canceled the proposal to build a new bridge for BRTS. Standing for almost 120 years, this bridge is today considered an important landmark of Ahmedabad. Its urban scene has been featured in several films, including Kai Po Che! (2013) and Kibirite Jaish? (2012) are included. To the west of Ellis Bridge is the Karnavati Art Gallery, where various art and cultural exhibitions are organized from time to time.