On This Day

Monday 1st August 1831

189 years ago

New London Bridge (19th century) was opened to traffic with great splendor by King William IV, accompanied by Queen Adelaide, and many of the members of the royal family. The old bridge continued in use while the new bridge was being built, and was demolished after the latter opened. New approach roads had to be built, which cost three times as much as the bridge itself. The total costs, around £2.5 million (£203 million in 2015), were shared by the British Government and the Corporation of London. In 1896 the bridge was the busiest point in London, and one of its most congested; 8,000 pedestrians and 900 vehicles crossed every hour. It was widened by 13 feet (4.0 m), using granite corbels.Subsequent surveys showed that the bridge was sinking an inch (about 2.5 cm) every eight years, and by 1924 the east side had sunk some three to four inches (about 9 cm) lower than the west side. The bridge would have to be removed and replaced. In the 1960's the bridge was auctioned and sold for $2,460,000 to Robert McCulloch who moved it to Havasu City, Arizona. The current London Bridge was designed by architect Lord Holford and engineers Mott, Hay and Anderson.[27] It was constructed by contractors John Mowlem and Co from 1967 to 1972, and opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 March 1973. It comprises three spans of prestressed-concrete box girders, a total of 928 feet (283 m) long. The cost of £4 million was met entirely by the Bridge House Estates charity. The current bridge was built in the same location as Rennie's bridge, with the previous bridge remaining in use while the first two girders were constructed upstream and downstream. Traffic was then transferred onto the two new girders, and the previous bridge demolished to allow the final two central girders to be added.