Bazalgette’s Hammersmith Bridge

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Bazalgette's Hammersmith Bridge
Earlier in the week I posted a shot of a bridge in Budapest made by William Tierney Clark. The same man built the original Hammersmith bridge which was replaced in 1887 by Joseph Bazalgette’s design due concern’s it wouldn’t hold the weight of the traffic (and the spectators to the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.)

Still the traffic numbers grew; and a more elaborate scheme is now in place which gives buses priority (the buses all have to be single decks too for weight concerns).

Its had multiple refurbishments – not least the one which returned it to it’s original green glory. Although most recently it was refurbished due to a REAL IRA bombing in the year 2000.

The IRA first attempted to blow it up 70 years ago; luckily a local man saw the sparking suitcase and threw it off the bridge into the Thames; where it reportedly blew columns of water 60 feet into the air. – Wikipedia
See this on Flickr, Zooomr, SmugMug, Ipernity.