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By N.H. Fischer – Wikimedia

Top 10 Facts about Tower Bridge

There is a total of 33 bridges crossing over River Thames. Of these 33, one of them stands out, the tower bridge that can be raised.

The middle section of the bridge raises to allow the flow of river traffic. This iconic bridge was officially opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1894. The bridge level is accessible to both vehicles and pedestrians.

The bridge was built to ease the rapid development in the East End of London and the need for a bridge downstream of London Bridge.

The part of the Thames where Tower Bridge was constructed is known as the Pool of London. During the Victorian era, it served as the busiest port in the world. Cargo ships from all over the world brought in goods such as cotton, sugar, and tea.

These shipments were offloaded into warehouses that lined the river banks between London Bridge and Limehouse, in East London.

The bridge is close to the Tower of London and has been confused with London bridge. The bridge is one of the important Landmarks in London.

Here are the top 10 facts about this bridge.

1. The Bridge opens once a day

The Tower Bridge was purposefully built to allow large vessels to cross the Thames River with ease.

Whenever a large vessel approaches, the suspended bridge opens up to give way to the ship.

This happens at least once to thrice a day. The ships are required to book the opening in advance, at least 24hours before and have to give the specifications of their vessel because smaller boats can cross without needing to open the bridge. Before this, the bridge staff worked for 24 hours to be on the lookout for huge ships that needed the bridge lifted.

The bascules open about 1000 times in a year and no fees are charged to the vessels.

It takes a minute to open and a minute to close after the vessel has safely passed.

Most of the ships that float on this part of River Thames are for tourists, it is a new change from the initial commercial ships that sailed through in 1894.

It was also in 1894 that the bridge was lifted the most, it was lifted 6,194 times an average of 17 times a day. Many believe that being able to catch the opening and closing of the bridge is a sign of good luck.

2. The Tower Bridge is a suspension bridge

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The tower bridge is made up of two suspended bridges that open and close. The bascules of the bridge move up and down on an off-centre pivot and are similar to a seesaw.

The bridge was powered by three large boilers that were fuelled in shifts for 24 hours. The steam provided enough power to the steam pumps that pushed and pulled the bascules.

The equipment that controls the bascules are in the base of each of the two towers.

The two bridge towers at the upper level of the bridge that has two horizontal walkways.

The towers were designed to withstand the horizontal pressure levied by the suspended sections of the bridge on the sides of the towers.

3. The design of Tower Bridge was approved in 1884

A special bridge committee was formed in 1877 to come up with a solution for a bridge that would allow easy access by a cargo ship on the East End of London.

The committee came up with a competition to allow architects to design the type of bridge that would serve the proposed purpose.

In 1876, around 50 designs for the bridge were submitted but unfortunately, none of them was picked.

Then in 1884, Sir Horace Jones submitted his design for the tower bridge and the committee approved it.

The design has been attributed to sir Horace as the architect and sir John Wolfe Barry who was the engineer.

Construction of the bridge commenced in 1886 and was completed in 1894, more than 432 construction workers and five construction companies built the bridge.

4. The walkway on the top level of the bridge is made of glass

If you are afraid of heights then this may be a little of a scare, but to assure you it is safe and fun.

This glass walkway gives the best bird’s eye view of London and is 42 metres above the river Thames. One can also watch the bascules open and close.

The views of the city include including The Shard, St Pauls, London and Canary Wharf, Greenwich and beyond to the east.

Above the glass, walkway is large mirrors that not only provide a perfect angle for the photo to be shared on the socials but also create an illusion of the walkway.

While still on the walkway, one can take a tour of the engine room and get to see some of the old tools and machinery used to power the bascules since its inception.

5. Ships have right of way at the Tower bridge

By Cmglee – Wikimedia

The tower bridge was built purposefully for the massive cargo ships and it is this reason why the water traffic takes priority over the other bridge users.

All activities are halted to let the ship pass for at least 5 minutes.

There have been incidences when the bridge opened up without warning, one was in 1997 when the US president, Bill Clinton’s motorcade was split into two. He had to wait for 20 minutes before catching up with the other motorcade on the other side.

The other incident happened in 1952 when one of the route 78 buses was on the bridge and it opened. The driver saved the day and the passengers survived with minor injuries. The driver was rewarded for his courage.

6. There is a tunnel under the tower bridge

Before the Tower bridge was constructed, other routes to cross over to the other side of London was devised.

A tunnel running under the Thames was dug by a group of Cornish miners working closely with the Thames archway company.

It was a first attempt to dig under a major river. The tunnel was to shorten the commute to the southern part of Britain. The London Bridge was a slower route and always had a traffic jam.

It was not an easy task for the construction workers. The narrow tunnel was called Tower Subway and was opened to the public in 1870. The tunnel did not last long and was shut in 1898. Today the tunnel serves as water main.

7. The bridge was named after the Tower of London

Tower Bridge did not get its name because of the two main towers on the bridge.

It got its name because it was built close to the Tower of London that is on the north bank of River Thames in Central London.

The design of the Tower Bridge was largely influenced by the Tower of London.

8. The bridge was closed for some time

When the bridge was opened to both pedestrians and vehicles, the walkways had less pedestrian traffic than expected.

Most pedestrians preferred to watch the bascules open from the banks of the river than on it, pedestrians on the bridge were able to cross even when the bridge is open.

The walkway soon turned into a den of petty crimes, pickpockets and ladies of the night. In 1910, the high-level walkway was closed.

It was reopened in 1982 after authorization from the city authorities.

9. It took 8 years to complete the Tower bridge

The construction of the Tower bridge took a total of 8 years, 432 construction workers and 5 leading construction companies to build it from start to finish.

During the construction of the bridge, two huge docks were dropped into the river bed to support the construction of the bridge. More than 11,000 tons of steel was also used to build the frames of the towers and the walkways.

The construction of the bridge was a dangerous affair and several tragic accidents happened during the construction of the bridge. A number of the construction workers suffered from injuries such as hearing loss, burns and some losing limbs.

10. 24-hour live webcam feed of the bridge

By Fuzzypiggy – Wikimedia

There is a 24-hour live feed from a high definition camera of the bridge. The feed shows time-lapse of the day events of and around the bridge.

The feed gets updated every five minutes, if you wish to view the daily photos, one can scroll through the gallery of the captured images in the last 24 hours.

One can catch a beautiful view of the sunrise and sunsets on clear days. The night view of the lit-up bridge is also a sight to behold.

Some famous landmarks are captured in the live feed while also getting a live feed of traffic on the bridge.