02/25/2007 | St Paul's & Millennium Bridge

A view over the Thames of St Paul's Cathedral. The bridge is the pedestrian Millennium Bridge.

The Millennium Bridge - The bridge was completed at a cost of £18.2m (£2.2m over budget) and opened on 10 June 2000 (2 months late) but unexpected lateral vibration caused the bridge to be closed on 12 June for modifications. The movements were produced by the sheer numbers of pedestrians (90,000 users in the first day, with up to 2,000 on the bridge at any one time). The bridge was on the route of a major charity walk and it was an exceptionally fine day. The initial small vibrations encouraged (or even obliged) the users to walk in synchronisation with the sway, increasing the effect even when the bridge was comparatively lightly loaded at the beginning of the day. This swaying motion earned it the nickname the Wobbly Bridge.

Attempts were made to limit the number of people crossing the bridge: this led to long queues, but dampened neither public enthusiasm for what was something of a white-knuckle ride, nor the vibrations themselves. The closure of the bridge only three days after opening attracted public criticism.

After a period of testing the bridge was successfully re-opened on 22 February 2002.

04:41 Posted in London 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)