Tower Bridge

London is divided by the river Thames, so it has many bridges. Tower Bridge is one the most visit and famous bridge in London.
It was named so because of its close location to the Tower of London. The bridge consists of two towers with two horizontal walkways tying it at the upper level. It was open in 1894. And now it’s a symbol of Great Britain like Big Ben, the Tower and another historical monuments of UK. Its total length is 244 metres, Longest span is 61 metres. Tower Bridge was designed by Horace Jones.



Opening times:
• 10:00 to 18:30, from 1st April to 30thSeptember
• 09:30 to 18:00, from 1st October to 31st March
It closed on 24th, 25th and 26thDecember.
To construct the framework for Towers and Walkways 11,000 tons of steel was used. In 2002 there was opened Tower Bridge Exhibition with emphasis on Walkways views and history of the Bridge. This exhibition uses films, photos and interactives to explain why and how Tower Bridge was built.



Every day more than 40,000 people cross the bridge (motorists, cyclists and pedestrians). Also there is a speed restriction (32 km/h) and weight limit on vehicles (18 tonns) on the bridge.
For all the years pf the bridge existing there were some incidents.
• 1952 the bridge started to open when a double-decker bus was on it
• 1968 Lieutenant Alan Pollock flew under Tower Bridge
• 1997 the 'unexpected' opening of Tower Bridge divided the motorcade of US President Bill Clinton.
• 2003 David Crick climbed a tower crane near Tower Bridge and made a 6-day protest dressed as Spider-Man