Vauxhall Bridge

Vauxhall Bridge
Coordinates51°29′15″N 0°07′37″W / 51.48750°N 0.12694°W / 51.48750; -0.12694
CarriesA202 road
CrossesRiver Thames
LocaleLondon
Maintained byTransport for London
Heritage statusGrade II* listed
Preceded byGrosvenor Railway Bridge
Followed byLambeth Bridge
Characteristics
DesignArch bridge
MaterialSteel and granite
Total length809 feet (247 m)
Width80 feet (24 m)
No. of spans5
Piers in water4
Clearance below39 feet 9 inches (12.1 m) at lowest astronomical tide[1]
History
DesignerSir Alexander Binnie,
Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice
Opened26 May 1906; 118 years ago (1906-05-26)
ReplacesRegent Bridge (Old Vauxhall Bridge) 1816–98
Statistics
Daily traffic50,533 vehicles (2004)[2]
Location
Map

Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a southeast–northwest direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank. Opened in 1906, it replaced an earlier bridge, originally known as Regent Bridge but later renamed Vauxhall Bridge, built between 1809 and 1816 as part of a scheme for redeveloping the south bank of the Thames. The bridge was built at a location in the river previously served by a ferry.

The building of both iterations of the bridge was problematic, with both the first and second bridges requiring several redesigns from multiple architects. The original bridge, the first iron bridge over the Thames, was built by a private company and operated as a toll bridge before being taken into public ownership in 1879. The second bridge, which took eight years to build, was the first in London to carry trams and later one of the first two roads in London to have a bus lane.

In 1963 it was proposed to replace the bridge with a modern development containing seven floors of shops, office space, hotel rooms and leisure facilities supported above the river, but the plans were abandoned because of costs. With the exception of alterations to the road layout and the balustrade, the design and appearance of the current bridge has remained almost unchanged since 1907. The bridge today is an important part of London's road system and carries the A202 road and Cycle Superhighway 5 (CS5) across the Thames.

  1. ^ Thames Bridges Heights, Port of London Authority, archived from the original on 20 July 2011, retrieved 25 May 2009
  2. ^ Cookson 2006, p. 316