London’s Tower Bridge is still CLOSED to vehicles a day after it was stuck open for more than an hour due to ‘mechanical fault’ causing traffic chaos in capital
- Tower Bridge was closed to vehicles today after a ‘mechanical fault’ yesterday
- On its Twitter page, officials said that the crossing was open to pedestrians
- The crossing opened on Saturday to allow a ship to sail down the River Thames
- But the bridge’s arms, known as bascules, failed to close again afterwards
London’s Tower Bridge remained closed to vehicles today after it was stuck open for more than an hour on Saturday due to a ‘mechanical fault’.
The bridge’s arms, known as bascules, failed to close again after it opened at around 4pm yesterday to allow a ship travelling down the River Thames to pass through.
Today officials confirmed that the historic crossing remained open to pedestrians only.
On the landmark’s official Twitter page a message read: ‘Tower bridge remains open to pedestrians only at present.’
Tower Bridge in London remained closed to vehicles today after it was stuck open for more than an hour on Saturday
A group of people pose for a photograph on the empty road on Tower Bridge today as it remained shut to traffic
On the landmark’s Twitter page an official message confirmed that only pedestrians could use the crossing
City of London Police have also urged motorists to find alternative routes.
Traffic in central London was left gridlocked after the famous bridge failed to close after allowing a ship to pass along the River Thames on Saturday afternoon.
Queues of motorists and pedestrians were left waiting for at least an hour from both directions.
A witness said: ‘According to the security radios we overheard there are multiple failures.’
City of London Police said engineers rushed to fix the bridge as drivers were urged to avoid the area.
In a tweet yesterday the force said: ‘Tower Bridge is currently closed to pedestrians and traffic, due a mechanical fault.
‘Mechanics are currently working hard to fix the bridge. Please find alternative routes.’
As the chaos ensued commuters took to social media to share their frustration.
One wrote: ‘I’ve been stuck here for nearly an hour now… #TowerBridge.’
Passersby reported that they had been waiting to cross Tower Bridge on Saturday for more than an hour
Hundreds of pedestrians were forced to huddle together as they queued in on the approach to Tower Bridge in London after it became stuck open
Traffic was brought to a complete standstill (pictured) with drivers warned to expect severe delays yesterday
It is thought that those already on the bridge at the time were told via a tannoy system to find an alternative route
Another commented: ‘Yep, tower bridge definitely stuck! One side started to come down but the other didn’t! #towerbridge #londontraffic.’
And a third added: ‘#TowerBridge opened almost an hour ago and it hasn’t closed back yet. It looks stuck and the two parts aren’t symmetrical.’
It is thought that those already on the bridge at the time were told via a tannoy system to find an alternative route.
It is not the first time that the iconic crossing has suffered a technical fault.
In 2005 police closed the bridge for ten hours after a technical problem prevented the arms from being lowered.
The suspension bridge, which is also a popular tourist attraction, directly connects the Square Mile financial district to Southwark.
Each of its bascules weigh more than 1,100 tons each with a 400 ton counterweight to help them descend after lifting to allow river traffic to pass through.
People took to social media in their droves to share updates over the technical fault on Saturday
City Of London Police said that the bridge had suffered a technical fault which has since been fixed (pedestrians, cyclists and motorists pictured waiting by the gates of the bridge on Saturday)