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Location Information:
Tower
Bridge is a combined bascule and
suspension bridge in London,
England, over the River Thames. It
is close to the Tower of London,
which gives it its name.Name. It has
become an iconic symbol of London.
The bridge consists of two towers
which are tied together at the upper
level by means of two horizontal
walkways which are designed to
withstand the horizontal forces
exerted by the suspended sections of
the bridge on the landward sides of
the towers. The vertical component
of the forces in the suspended
sections and the vertical reactions
of the two walkways are carried by
the two robust towers. The bascule
pivots and operating machinery are
housed in the base of each tower.
The bridge's present colour dates
from 1977 when it was painted red,
white and blue for the Queen's
Silver Jubilee. Originally it was
painted a chocolate brown colour.
Tower
Bridge is still a busy and vital
crossing of the Thames: it is
crossed by over 40,000 people
(motorists, cyclists and
pedestrians) every day. The bridge
is on the London Inner Ring Road,
and is on the eastern boundary of
the London congestion charge zone.
(Drivers do not incur a charge by
crossing the bridge.)
In order to maintain the integrity
of the historic structure, the City
of London Corporation have imposed a
20 miles per hour (32 km/h) speed
restriction, and an 18 tonne weight
limit on vehicles using the bridge.
A sophisticated camera system
measures the speed of traffic
crossing the bridge, utilising a
number plate recognition system to
send fixed penalty charges to
speeding drivers.
In
April 2008 it was announced that the
bridge would undergo a 'facelift'
costing £4 million, and taking four
years to complete. The work entailed
stripping off the existing paint
down to bare metal and repainting in
blue and white. Each section was
enshrouded in scaffolding and
plastic sheeting to prevent the old
paint from falling into the Thames
and causing pollution. Starting in
mid-2008, contractors worked on a
quarter of the bridge at a time to
minimise disruption, but some road
closures were inevitable. It is
intended that the completed work
will stand for 25 years.
The
renovation of the walkway interior
was completed in mid 2009. Within
the walkways a versatile new
lighting system has been installed,
designed by Eleni Shiarlis, for when
the walkways are in use for
exhibitions or functions. The new
system provides for both feature and
atmospheric lighting, the latter
using bespoke RGB LED luminares,
designed to be concealed within the
bridge superstructure and fixed
without the need for drilling (these
requirements as a result of the
bridge's Grade I status)
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