The Metropolis

Tower Bridge is Going Up

Chuck Ansbacher | Thursday 31 March, 2011 15:51

For the first time in a few months, on Saturday one of the most famous bridges in the world will stop traffic and open up to let a boat through.

Slightly disappointingly, the first boat to go through is just a regular on the Thames, the MV Dixie Queen – an American style paddle steamer – which will do the usual trick of going through, turning around by HMS Belfast then heading back out again an hour later.

The “event” takes place at 5:30pm.

One of the more interesting facts about the bridge comes at the end IanVisits’ post, explaining how the bridge, just like all bridges in London, is actually financed — through a trust fund that doesn’t cost the tax payers a penny.

Originally established by Royal Charter in 1282, the Bridge House Estates initially managed just London Bridge, but later brought other bridges crossing the river within the Square Mile, and now manages all of them. Although its finances have wobbled at times, it is now sufficiently rich to not only maintain the bridges and keep a reserve for repairs – that in 1995, it sought a Cy-près declaration to allow it to make charitable grants outside its legal remit for bridge maintenance.

Can we get the maintenance and operations of all infrastructure to function under a similar funding model? Because that honestly sounds too good to be true.

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