Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule , suspension , and, until , cantilever bridge [ 1 ] in London , built between and , designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel.
The bridge was constructed to connect the 39 per cent of London's population that lived east of London Bridge, equivalent to the populations of "Manchester on the one side, and Liverpool on the other", [ 3 ] while allowing shipping to access the Pool of London between the Tower of London and London Bridge. The bridge is feet m in length including the abutments [ 4 ] and consists of two foot 65 m bridge towers connected at the upper level by two horizontal walkways, and a central pair of bascules that can open to allow shipping.
Originally hydraulically powered , the operating mechanism was converted to an electro-hydraulic system in The bridge is part of the London Inner Ring Road and thus the boundary of the London congestion charge zone, and remains an important traffic route with 40, crossings every day.
The bridge deck is freely accessible to both vehicles and pedestrians, whereas the bridge's twin towers, high-level walkways, and Victorian engine rooms form part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition. Tower Bridge has become a recognisable London landmark. It is sometimes confused with London Bridge , about 0. By the late 19th century, the population and commercial development in the East End of London was increasing, leading to demand for a new river crossing downstream of London Bridge.
A traditional fixed bridge at street level could not be built because it would cut off access by sailing ships to the port facilities in the Pool of London between London Bridge and the Tower of London. More than fifty designs were submitted, including one from civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette , which was rejected because of a lack of sufficient headroom.
