Restoring the most famous bridge in the world

Visitors to Tower Bridge Exhibition are sharing an exciting experience which occurs only once in every quarter-century. In addition to stunning views from the high-level Walkways, and the original Victorian Engines, visitors can now enjoy a close-up of the £4 million make-over that is restoring Tower Bridge. The City of London Corporation is footing the bill for a meticulous programme of works which will present the 1894 Bridge afresh in its glorious colours.

Over the three-year programme, the stonework of the bridge is to be cleaned and the 11,000 tons of its massive steel structure will be repainted in the current colours of red, white and blue. The challenging project will consume no fewer than 22,000 litres of paint, which will take a highly-skilled workforce 44,000 hours to apply.

Views from the famous Walkways remain uninterrupted as the first phase of the project gets underway. The span of the bridge from the south bank to the south Main Tower is already “under wraps” as workmen grit-blast paintwork back to the base metal ready for re-coating to begin. State-of-the-art techniques ensure that the environment too is unaffected. Visitors are intrigued to see scaffolding swathed in specially-made EnviroWrap, complete with sealed compartments in which the workforce operate.

This sophisticated ‘green’ system prevents particles of paint and dust from entering the atmosphere and ensures that noise is kept strictly under control. During the three year project, this process will be repeated in turn on other parts of the bridge where work will continue, on and off, in carefully planned phases.
Work on the south span is due to be completed in February 2009.

Access to Tower Bridge is unrestricted, with the sole exception of the closure of the pavement on the south west side of the bridge. Pedestrians approaching from the south bank simply take the east pavement across the bridge, crossing the road to reach the Tower Bridge Exhibition Ticket Office on the north side. While work is in progress, visitors arriving by train are favouring Tower Bridge Underground and Fenchurch Street main line stations, while coaches continue to drop off at Tower Hill Car Park.

Information on refurbishment of Tower Bridge is available on the Tower Bridge Exhibition website: towerbridge.co.uk