Monuments
Makeover: Tower Bridge in London gets new bolts
Engineers work on Tower Bridge. For the first time in decades, engineers will remove and replace the 2-meter-long “nose bolts” that hold the two bascules (bridge decks) together when the bridge is closed. photo
© James Manning/PA Wire/dpa
For 129 years now, thanks to its folding mechanism, even large ships have been able to pass through the Thames. But after decades, four bolts of the tower bridge now need to be replaced.
It is folded up around 900 times a year To allow ships to pass through: The mechanism of London’s Tower Bridge is currently being replaced during nighttime work. Four two-meter-long bolts in the mechanism of the 129-year-old bascule bridge will be replaced this week, according to a report by the British news agency PA on Thursday. The bridge is therefore currently closed at night.
“Doing this work at night means we keep London moving and minimize disruption for motorists, pedestrians and the many tourists who come to enjoy the attraction,” said Paul Monaghan of the City Bridge Foundation, which works for is responsible for the preservation of the London landmark.
Because part of the road surface also needs to be replaced, the bridge will also be closed to car traffic from this Saturday through Monday, it said on the foundation’s website.
According to PA, the Tower Bridge, built in the neo-Gothic style, is crossed by 40,000 pedestrians and 21,000 vehicles every day. It connects the districts of Tower Hamlets in the north and Southwark in the south of the Thames. The bolts were last replaced decades ago, they said.