London Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge is one of the most famous tourist attractions of London. The bridge’s close proximity to the Tower of London has given it the name ‘Tower Bridge’. Constructed over the River Thames, it is a combination of a suspension bridge and a bascule bridge. It consists of two towers. The bridge is 60 meters long with each towers rising to a height of 43 meters.
The bridge opened on 30th June 1894. New and unique problems surrounded the bridge’s construction. With the primary intent of providing a river crossing downstream of London Bridge, the bridge could not be designed using traditional and tested fixed bridge designs. Had this been the case, port facilities in the Pool of London would be cut off from the East End of London. Accepting the challenge of a unique construction design for the bridge, a committee headed by Sir Albert Joseph was formed in 1876. The committee evaluated several designs, many of which were submitted by public. Finally, in 1884, the committee approved the design submitted by Horace Jones, the city architect. The design idea was further extended by Wolfe Barry. The bridge has been constructed in such a way that its middle portion can be raised to allow large vessels to pass under it. Till date, it is raised four to five times a day. Originally painted in a chocolate brown color, the bridge was repainted red, white and blue in 1977 for the Queen’s silver jubilee. It has, since then, retained the same paint pattern and style.

The Tower Bridge can be easily reached by train, tube and bus. One gets an excellent view of the center of London from the top of the towers. It is also possible to visit the inside of the towers to get an idea about the original mechanism used to raise the bridge. In addition, to driving over the bridge it is possible to walk over the high-level walkways between the two towers. The Tower Bridge is an iconic landmark and a trip to London is incomplete without a visit to it.

Linus Orakles
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