Tower Bridge Essay

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Tower Bridge NAME: The name of bridge that I have selected is TOWER BRIDGE. TYPE: Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name and has become an iconic symbol of London. SPAN OF BRIDGE: The span for a tower Bride is centre to centre distance between the pulleys at both ends of towers. Main span of tower bridge is 60.96 m. Side spans are 82.3 m. HEIGHT OF DECK: The two side spans, each 270 feet long, are of the suspension type. The central span has two high-level foot ways side by side, and one low-level roadway. High-level girders carry the upper footways, which are reached by hydraulic lifts or staircases in the main towers. The roadway, or central opening span, is 200 feet long and consists of two bascules or leaves. The Tower Bridge Act laid down that when the bridge was open there should be a clear headway at high tide between the water and the high-level footways of 135 feet and a headway of 29 feet when the bridge was closed. These dimensions were exceeded in practice, the open height being 5 feet and the closed height 6 in. greater than had been prescribed. This was above high-water level. The greatest extreme between high and low tide at Tower Bridge is 25 feet. At their river ends the chains pass over lofty towers which are themselves connected at an elevation of 143 feet above high water. AVERAGE ANNUAL TRAFFIC ON THE BRIDGE: 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.) To maintain the integrity of the structure, the City of London

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