London boroughs: – north side: Tower Hamlets – south side: Southwark
Named for
Tower of London
Maintained by
City Bridge Foundation
Heritage status
Grade I listed building
Website
www.towerbridge.org.uk
Preceded by
London Bridge
Followed by
Elizabeth II Bridge
Characteristics
Design
Bascule bridge / Suspension Bridge
Total length
800 feet (240 m)
Height
213 feet (65 m)
History
Architect
Horace Jones
Construction start
21 June 1886
Construction end
1894
Opened
30 June 1894
Location
Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel.[1] It crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and is one of five London bridges owned and maintained by the City Bridge Foundation, a charitable trust founded in 1282.
The bridge was constructed to connect the 39 per cent of London's population that lived east of London Bridge, equivalent to the populations of "Manchester on the one side, and Liverpool on the other".[2]
The bridge was opened by Edward, Prince of Wales and Alexandra, Princess of Wales on 30 June 1894.
The bridge is 800 feet (240 m) in length and consists of two 213-foot (65 m) bridge towers connected at the upper level by two horizontal walkways, and a central pair of bascules that can open to allow shipping. Originally hydraulically powered, the operating mechanism was converted to an electro-hydraulic system in 1972. The bridge is part of the London Inner Ring Road and thus the boundary of the London congestion charge zone, and remains an important traffic route with 40,000 crossings every day. The bridge deck is freely accessible to both vehicles and pedestrians, whereas the bridge's twin towers, high-level walkways, and Victorian engine rooms form part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition.
Tower Bridge has become a recognisable London landmark. It is sometimes confused with London Bridge, about 0.5 miles (800 m) upstream, which has led to a persistent urban legend about an American purchasing the wrong bridge.
^Portman, Derek (2004). "Henry Marc Brunel: Civil Engineer". Construction History. 20: 71–83. JSTOR 41613878. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
^Wolfe Barry, John (1897). "Discussion on the Tower Bridge". Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 127 (1897): 60–79.
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