Tower Bridge is undoubtedly one of the icons of London and the hundreds of tourists you see every day on More London Riverside are testament to that. They will be very few bridges that are can compete with this one on my walk. The bridge is a lot younger than people imagine. It was built over an eight year period and completed in 1894 following a period of increasing commercial activity in the East End of London. A fixed bridge, like London Bridge, could not be built as there were still docks upstream of the Tower of London. The Special Bridge or Subway Committee was set up in 1876 to come up with a solution and to approve a design. However, it was eight years later in 1884 that the design by the City Architect Horace Jones was chosen.
Tower Bridge is a bascule bridge (essentially a drawbridge with a counterweight system) and is 800 feet in length, although the central span between the two towers in 20o feet wide. The leaves of the bridge can be opened to 83 degrees allowing taller river traffic to pass under it. Originally the bridge was operated by a steam powered hydraulic system that was fed with water. The original hydraulics are still in use, but have now been converted to run with oil and electric motors.
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