Vauxhall Bridge
Coordinates: 51 ° 29 ′ 15 ″ N , 0 ° 7 ′ 37 ″ W.
| Vauxhall Bridge | ||
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| use | Road bridge | |
| Convicted | Main road A202 | |
| Crossing of | Thames | |
| place | London | |
| construction | Arch bridge | |
| overall length | 246.5 m | |
| width | 24 m | |
| start of building | 1st bridge - 1811 2nd bridge - 1904 |
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| completion | 1st bridge - 1816 2nd bridge - |
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| opening | 1st bridge - 2nd bridge - May 26, 1906 |
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The Vauxhall Bridge is a road bridge over the River Thames in London . It connects the district of Pimlico in the City of Westminster on the north-west side with the district of Vauxhall in the London Borough of Lambeth on the south-east side. The headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service is located directly next to the south-eastern bridge approach .
The bridge is 246.5 meters long, 24 meters wide and consists of five steel arches that rest on granite pillars. The most striking feature are eight female bronze figures on either side of the four pillars that represent art and science. The main road A202 leads over the bridge.
history
A law passed by Parliament in 1809 made it possible to build a bridge at this point, which was to be part of a direct road link between Hyde Park and Greenwich . At least three project proposals were rejected, including two from John Rennie and one from Samuel Bentham . Civil engineer James Walker finally got the chance . The foundation stone was laid in 1811 and the bridge was opened in 1816.
Walker's nine-arch construction was the first iron-built bridge over the Thames. Use of the bridge was subject to tolls until 1879, when the Metropolitan Board of Works took over the bridge . The tides had loosened the bridge piers over time. The repair seemed too expensive, which is why those responsible decided on a completely new building. After a temporary wooden bridge was erected, demolition of the old Vauxhall Bridge began in 1898.
Construction work on the second bridge, designed by Alexander Binnie , did not begin until 1904, however. It was opened on May 26, 1906 by the Prince of Wales, later King George V ; it was the first bridge in London to run on trams .
Web links
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Upstream Grosvenor Bridge Tunnel on the Victoria Line |
River crossings of the Thames |
downstream Lambeth Bridge |