Along with the Houses of Parliament and the Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and the Queens guards, Tower Bridge in London is synonymous with the city. It is in all probability the most popular bridge in the world. It was designed by Sir Horace Jones. The engineer appointed with this was Sir John Wolfe-Barry. The bridge was started in 1886 and completed in 1894. The whole of the tower exterior is designed in Victorian masonry. It stands ta 206 feet. The material used to make it was steel. The whole design and architecture of the tower in Victorian Gothic style is perfectly in sync with the surrounding and also the Tower of London.
The Tower Bridge in London was constructed when there was an urgent need for commuting and the east of London was cluttered with people. A bridge across Thames became a necessity and not a structural delight. It took about 8 years to build this super structure. Five contractors were appointed along with 450 workers to complete the bridge. Edward the 7th inaugurated it.Two huge piers were sunk in the river bed to support the weight of the massive structure. The steel work was given a coating of Cornish Granite and Portland stone. On an average the bridge carries about ,900 vehicles per hour between. The rush is more from 7am and 10am. This bridge is one of the movable bridges in the world. Since the bridge was situated close to the harbor and at a strategic location in the river Thames, it obstructed many large vessels. It was thus designed to make it a movable bridge. It can be opened from middle in order for large vessel to pass through. The towers of the bridge are tied together at the upper reaches by horizontal walkways. The original bridge was chocolate brown in color while the present bridge is painted red, white and blue keeping in date with the Queens Silver Jubilee.
Each deck in the Tower Bridge in London is more than 30 meters long. When opened fully it makes an angle of 83 degrees. From the two bridge towers you get a magnificent view of London. The Tower Bridge is also called the London Bridge by the tourists but in reality the two bridges are different. The nearest underground station here is Tower Hill while the Tower Gateway is the nearest Docklands Light Railway station. The Bridge is connected to the Iron Gate on the North, Horsleydown Lane on the South. Much before the Bridge was constructed Tower Subway was popular with the people. The Tower Bridge in London is maintained by Bridge House Estate which is a part of the Corporation of London.
Traffic control in the bridge is done by red semaphore signals. With nighfall colored lights are illuminated on both the piers.
