LONDON'S MILLENNIUM BRIDGE

London's Millennium Bridge



London's Millennium Bridge

Introduction

The dawn of the new millennium ushered in a mixture of excitement, trepidation and relief when January 1st 2000 appeared and the world remained the same. Although the fears associated with Y2K and impeding millennial doom were proven to be unfounded, a sense of excitement was certainly found in major world centers such London, New York, Sydney and Montreal.

Accordingly, massive building projects were undertaken to usher in the new millennium - according to the Christian calendar it should be noted, since for Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, January 1st 2000 was a different day, year and month entirely - and London engaged in one of the largest, most impressive and arguably most controversial building projects to celebrate the new millennium.

Seeking to understand the development of London's Millennium Bridge, this research paper will provide a brief description of the history and development of London's Millennium Bridge. Following this, we will provide a survey of the literature on the project, with a particular emphasis on the sustainability of the project today and into the future. A short analysis of the costs, benefits and risks associated with the project will follow and we will conclude with a broad overview of the issues studied with respect to one of the most controversial construction projects in London in recent memory, the building of the Millennium Bridge (Architects, 2000; Steves, 2006).

Brief History and Development

Opening in the summer of 2000, London's Millennium Bridge was welcomed as an architectural wonder but also received its fair share of controversy in the initial days after its unveiling. As a steel suspension bridge which crosses the river Thames, London's Millennium Bridge provides a pedestrian link to the City of London and Backside. Competition for the erection of a major bridge began in earnest four years prior to the unveiling and was the subject of a competition created by the Southwark city council. With a total length of 235 meters, the winning entry was the “Blade of Light” design by architects Arup, Foster and Partners in conjunction with Sir Anthony Caro.

This bridge received a fair bit of controversy, when after its unveiling the bridge reportedly rocked back and forth and scared pedestrians who were crossing it. It subsequently was nicknamed the Wobbly Bridge and was closed for two years following this unexpected occurrence. The following will chart the development of this majestic, yet controversial bridge. Once a decision had been made as to would obtain the contract for London's Millennial Bridge, Blade of Light architects Arup, Foster and Partners in conjunction with Sir Anthony Caro began construction in earnest. While development began earlier, construction started in 1998 and continued up untilthe official opening on June 2000. This was London's first new Thames crossing in more than a century and London's Millennial Bridge was built to the tune of £18m. Accordingly, nearly half of the funds were donated by the Millennium Commission. The specifications of the bridge included a total length of 330m, a ...