As of Monday afternoon pedestrians and vehicles can no longer cross Tower Bridge. The London bascule bridge got stuck in the open position after allowing an imposing sailboat, the Sailing Vessel Tenacious, to pass, as its schedule shows.
A “technical incident”, which strongly disrupts traffic in the English capital. The bridge connects the Square Mile financial district to Southwark, across the River Thames, and its closure caused long traffic jams on both banks on Monday.
The bridge opens 800 times a year
This is the second time in a year that such an incident has occurred. In August 2020, the symbol of London was also found immobilized, after a blackout of more than an hour.
Built between 1886 and 1894, the structure was considered at the time to be “the longest and most sophisticated bascule bridge ever built,” according to its website. The scales move up and down, about 800 times a year, thanks to four large cogwheels on each side, initially activated by steam before a hydraulic system was installed in the 1970s.