TOWER BRIDGE

(LONDON,ENGLAND)

Tower Bridge is a drawbridge in London. It crosses the

River Thames near the Tower of London. It allows ships
through the bridge deck when is raised at an angle in the
centre.

The north side of the bridge is Tower Hill, and the south
side of the bridge comes down into Bermondsey, an area
in Southwark. Tower Bridge is far more visible than
London Bridge, which people often mistake it for. Many
tourists go to London to see the Tower Bridge. It has its
own exhibition centre in the horizontal walkway. This
gives one of the best vantage points in London.

The "bascules" are the surfaces raised to allow tall ships

to pass through: this happens about 900 times per year.
The bridge's decks (bascules) can be raised to 83o from
the horizontal.
 HISTORY
The City of London Corporation held a competition for
the design in 1876. Over 50 designs were entered, and in
1884 Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry's design was
chosen.

Workers began to build the Tower Bridge in April 1886

and the bridge was opened in 30 June 1894.

In June 2012, the bridge was highlighted on the route of

Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the
Thames.

DESIGN
The bridge is 800 ft (244 m) in length with two towers,
each 213 ft (65 m) high, built on piers. The central span
of 200 ft (61 m) between the towers is split into two
equal bascules or leaves, which can be raised to an angle
of 83o to allow river traffic to pass. The bascules,
weighing over 1,100 tons each, are counterbalanced to
minimize the force required and allow raising in five
minutes. The bascules are raised by huge hydraulic
pumps which were first powered by steam engines. In
1976 these were replaced by oil and electricity. The
bridge is made from more than 11,000 tons of steel, and
covered with Cornish granite and Portland stone.

The two side-spans are suspension bridges, each 270 feet

(82 m) long, with the suspension rods anchored both at
the abutments and through rods contained within the
bridge's upper walkways. The pedestrian walkways are
143 feet (44 m) above the river at high tide. These
walkways allow people to still cross the river, even when
the bridge is raised. They were closed in 1910 because
not enough people used them, but were
reopenedin1982.