| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
The London Millennium Footbridge is a pedestrian-only steel suspension bridge crossing the River Thames in London between the existing Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge, linking Bankside with the City. It was the first new bridge across the Thames in London since Tower Bridge in 1894 and it is owned by the Corporation of London.
The south end of the bridge is near Globe Theatre, the Bankside Gallery and Tate Modern, the north end near St Paul's Cathedral. The bridge alignment is such that a clear view of St Paul's south facade is presented from across the river, framed by the bridge supports, thus providing one of London's most photogenic views of the cathedral.
| Part of the bridge seen from the north bank of the Thames, with Southwark Bridge in the background |
The design of the bridge was decided by a competition organised in 1996 by Southwark council. The winning entry was a innovative "blade of light" effort from Ove Arup , Foster and Partners and Sir Anthony Caro. Due to height restrictions, and to improve the view, the bridge's suspension design had the supporting cables below the deck level, giving a very shallow profile. The bridge has two river piers and is made of three main sections of 81m, 144m and 108m (North to South) with a total structure length of 325m; the aluminium deck is 4m wide.
Construction began in late 19981998 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of the Ocean''. Events January January 1998 A massive ice storm, caused by El Nino, strikes New England, southern Ontario and Quebec, resulting with the main works beginning on April 28April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. Events 1788 Maryland becomes the 7th state to ratify the Constitution of the United States. 1789 Mutiny on the HMAV Bounty''. Captain William B, 1999For the album by Prince, see 1999 (album 1999 is a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the UN. Events Kosovo War Former child star Gary Coleman files for bankruptcy Y2K prep by Monberg Thorsen and McAlpine. The bridge was completed at a cost of £18.2m (£2.2m over budget) and opened on June 10June 10 is the 161st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (162nd in leap years), with 204 days remaining. Events 1190 Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Saleph River while leading an army to Jerusalem. 1692 Salem witch trials: Bridge, 2000This page is about the year 2000. See 2000 AD for the UK comic book, Number 2000 for other uses. 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar), and also the International Year for a Culture of Peace''. Events Y2K passes without the seri (2 months late) but unexpected lateral vibration (resonant structural response) caused the bridge to be closed on June 12June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. Events 1381 Peasants' Revolt: In England rebels arrive at Blackheath. 1653 First Anglo-Dutch War: Battle of the Gabbard lasted until June 13. 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 initial small vibrations encouraged the users to walk in synchronisation with the sway, increasing the effect. This swaying motion earned it the nickname the Wobbly Bridge.
ResonantThis article is about resonance in physics. For other uses, see Resonance (disambiguation). In physics, resonance is an increase in the oscillatory energy absorbed by a system when the frequency of the oscillations matches the system's natural frequency o vibrational modes have been well understood in bridge designs following the failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. However this was the first time a bridge had displayed this type of pedestrian excited lateral motion. As such the motion was not anticipated by the computational analysis of the bridge prior to construction. It is often thought that the unusually low profile of the suspension cables contributed to the problem, but an analysis by the structural engineers, Ove Arup, shows that it can occur in any suspension bridge which happens to have the appropriate resonant frequencies. After extensive analysis, the problem was fixed by the retrofitting of 37 fluid-viscous dampers (energy dissipating) to control horizontal movement and 52 tuned mass dampers (inertial) to control vertical movement. This took from May 2001 to January 2002 and cost £5m. After a period of testing the bridge was successfully re-opened on February 22, 2002.