Millennium Bridge

About Millennium Bridge

Bridge in London

The Millennium Bridge, officially the London Millennium Footbridge, is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the Thames and linking Bankside on the south bank with the City of London, owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation. Construction began in 1998 and it first opened on 10 June 2000, but pedestrians felt an alarming swaying motion on the opening day, Londoners nicknamed it the "Wobbly Bridge", and it was closed that same day; after two days of limited access it shut for almost two years while modifications were made to stop the swaying, reopening in February 2002 after real-life safety tests involving 700 staff from the engineering consultancy Arup. The bridge lies between Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge; its southern end is near the Globe Theatre, the Bankside Gallery and Tate Modern, and its northern end beside the City of London School below St Paul's Cathedral. Its alignment was designed to present a clear view of the cathedral's south facade from across the river, framed by the bridge supports, one of the finest sights in London, especially at night. It was designed by Foster and Partners with the sculptor Anthony Caro and Arup's engineers as a low-profile structure whose cables run almost horizontally. Wikivoyage notes that most people who cross never notice its most distinctive feature: hundreds of tiny paintings made by an artist on the chewing gum stuck to its deck, so small that you will miss them underfoot unless you look for them.

Where:

London, United Kingdom