'Wobbly' Millennium Bridge closed for weeks for 'urgent repair work' as part of structure is 'degrading'
5 October 2023, 12:41
London's Millennium Bridge is closing for three weeks while maintenance workers carry out urgent repairs.
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The 325-metre footbridge, which links the Tate Modern and St Paul's Cathedral, will shut for maintenance between Saturday October 14 and Sunday November 5.
The membrane between the steel structure and aluminium decking has "started to degrade" and needs to be fixed "urgently," according to the trust that owns the bridge.
The Millennium Bridge opened in 2000, but was soon forced to close again for two years because it was wobbling.
Engineers investigated and found that the problem could not be fixed entirely, but that the wobbling could be limited with special hydraulic devices.
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City Bridge Foundation chairman Giles Shilson said: "Since it opened to mark the new millennium, the bridge has become a much loved and very well-used fixture on the London landscape, but it is starting to show its age.
"The separation layer under the bridge deck has started to degrade, which means it’s having an adverse effect on the bridge deck and needs addressing urgently.
"Replacing this layer is a time-consuming process, meaning we have no option but to close the bridge for three weeks and to work round the clock to get it done as quickly as possible.
"We’re sorry for any inconvenience but hope people will understand we do need to do this work, and will see the benefits after we give the bridge a much-needed deep clean that will leave it looking as good as new."
Signs for diversion routes will be in place towards nearby Thames crossings Blackfriars Bridge and Southwark Bridge.
The City Bridge Foundation, the charitable arm of the City of London Corporation, owns Millennium Bridge, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge.
