The Millennium Bridge

The Millennium Bridge
A modern day engineering triumph

January 2001-CLOSED -The £18M Millennium Bridge linking Blackfriars to Bankside.

The new bridge, nicknamed the 'wobbly bridge' because of its tendency to sway when people walked over it, was only open for a short while during 2000.

Photo: Millennium Bridge © Fynevue Jan 2001.

The Wobbly Bridge

A modern engineering masterpiece or a 'Bridge too Far?'. What was a bold idea to guide visitors from St. Pauls Cathedral, across the Thames, to Bankside (now Tate Modern) was disappointingly executed. The new bridge nicknamed the 'wobbly bridge', because of its tendency to sway when people walked over it, closed on 12th June 2000, just two days after it opened!

Blade of Light
	Flashback to June 2000, open day for the bridge... The 320 metre London Millennium Bridge was designed by Lord Foster. Its construction of steel and aluminium signifies a 'Blade of Light' linking the two shores. Photo: 'The Blade of Light' © Nick Gondolo June 2000.
Engineering
	The Millennium Bridge is the gateway from St. Paul's to Tate Modern, Bankside and Southwark. Photo: Millennium Bridge © Fynevue Feb 2012.
	Holding up strong, the Millennium Bridge is wearing well. Photo: Millennium Bridge © Fynevue Feb 2012.
	The bridge has a metal decking and the experience is like walking on escalator steps. Photo: Millennium Bridge © Fynevue Oct 2005.
	A y-shaped forked base. Photo: Millennium Bridge © Fynevue Feb 2012.

A Bridge too Far?

Following an international competition in December 1996, a team of designers and engineers was appointed to construct a new bridge across the Thames.

Client:

London Borough of Southwark
London Millennium Bridge Trust

Design Team:

Architects and Designers - Foster and Partners
Sculptor - Sir Anthony Caro-Barford Sculptures Ltd
Quantity Surveyors - Davis Langdon & Everest

Engineers:

Arup
Arup's other projects include the BT Tower lifts.

The bridge was opened on 10th June 2000, but due to excessive swaying, caused by the footfalls of large numbers of pedestrians walking across, it was closed on 12th June. As a result of this, Arup set to work with engineers from the Universities of Southampton, Sheffield and London and architects of the Millennium Bridge, Foster and Partners, to find a solution.

By late 2000, Arup had installed a prototype damping system to limit movement of the bridge.
This comprised of:

four chevrons
two viscous dampers
one tuned mass damper.

This was tested and proved to eliminate the excessive lateral movement, thus making the bridge comfortable for all to use. The full solution was expected to take six months to install and the bridge was due to open for the Summer of 2001. In practice, the bridge did not re-open until the 22nd February 2002.

Design, images and text compiled by © Fynevue. Page last updated Feb 2016 revision. Checked June 2024.

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