Tower Bridge had a bit of a nightmare yesterday.
We all have bad days, and Tower Bridge had one yesterday. The bridge failed to close after opening to allow a ship to pass along the Thames, leaving the bridge’s arms stuck pointing skywards and preventing any road or foot traffic from crossing. Which, unsurprisingly, had a knock-on effect on traffic in south London:
Tailbacks at least as far as New Kent Road /Old Kent Road roundabout about 15 mins ago. Latest from staff was “We’re trying to find out what’s happened.” #TowerBridge
— James Macdonald (@TweetsMacdonald) August 9, 2021
Whilst the lack of movement across the bridge was bound to create a little chaos, it also made for a pretty striking photo opportunity. After all, when life hands you lemons, have a photoshoot!
SEE ALSO: Tower Bridge is home to a knee-wobbling glass floor
Tower Bridge is stuck open. Great for tourists though! #towerbridge pic.twitter.com/gL8nvxxXPs
— Empress (@NoirLox) August 9, 2021
The landmark drawstring bridge opens and closes seamlessly over 800 times a year in order to let ships pass by, however on this occasion, the bridge malfunctioned and remained obstinately open, with emergency works carried out on the approaches to the bridge. It seems to rather unfortunately be becoming a yearly thing; the bridge was off limits to vehicles for a full day last August due to a mechanical fault.
Tower Bridge was finally able to close at around 2am this morning (August 10), after emergency repair works were able to fix the mechanical fault causing it. Saves us all having to go the long way round…