Tower Bridge

In the top ten of the most famous bridges around the world, we can find this England’s icon called ‘Tower Bridge’. This is located over the River Thames. It is such as giant that it has a length of 244 metres. It was necessary 11,000 tons of steel for the construction which was started in 1884 and designed by Jhon Wolfe Barry who was an associate of the City Architect, Horace Jones, in this project.

At that time, there were a port near this area and therefore a lot more boats plied this river than now. Furthermore, people who lived there, lost one unnecessary hour to make a detour if they wanted to go out. For this reason, the City of London Corporation decided acting. They had to looking for the way to make a bridge and not stop boats’ traffic. Finally, it was taken the idea of a bascule bridge.

They sunk two piers into the river with a distance of 61 metres and the two bascules were built between them. The mechanism for raising the bridge worked with hydraulic energy but now it is used petrol and electricity. That first operation next to the first possible plans of the bridge which weren’t used stay in a small exhibition inside it.

It counts with a side for cars and another for walkers. Moreover, there are some snacks shops. When a boat is approaching, the bridge only needs a minute to raise. A few years ago, it was painting in blue for offering a good image in the Olympic Games. 

2011