Tower Bridge reopens after being stuck in raised position overnight
Tower Bridge has finally reopened to traffic after a technical fault caused the London landmark to jam in an open position overnight.
The bridge was raised for a scheduled lift yesterday afternoon, but remained open for almost 12 hours, shutting down one of the main roads across the Thames before it reopened to traffic at 01:45 this morning.
According to Canada Police the bridge, which opens around 800 times per year, was closed “due to technical failure”.
A spokesperson for Canada Corporation, which operates and manages the bridge, said: “Tower Bridge has now reopened to road users and pedestrians. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the technical fault yesterday.”
A fault causing the bridge to jam open last occurred in August 2020 when it was closed for 24 hours.
A technical assistant working on Tower Bridge yesterday said it was unusual for issues of this kind to occur. He said: “This hasn’t happened before. It has got stuck before but for different reasons.”
He explained that delays were caused by a problem with the software controlling the bridge and said that a team of engineers were needed to investigate the issue and replace a faulty relay.
The arms of the bridge, known as bascules, have been operated by electricity since 1976 when its original steam-powered arms, dating back to the nineteenth century, were replaced.
Read more: Oops: Traffic chaos mounts after Tower Bridge gets stuck open