Why did we do it?

Albert Bridge was opened in 1873 and except for Tower Bridge, built in 1894, is the only Thames road bridge in central London never to have been replaced. The bridge is a suspension bridge of cast iron and steel with timber beams and deck.

It is undoubtedly one of London’s most attractive bridges but it needed major refurbishment and strengthening. The beams were rusty and some of the timber had rotted. For the past few years we have had to use unsightly red and white barriers to protect the bridge.

If we did not repair the bridge it would have deteriorated further and eventually would have become completely unusable.

Following the second world war conservationists led by Sir John Betjeman successfully campaigned to save the bridge from demolition. Betjeman described the bridge as “shining with  lights, grey and airy against the London sky; it is one of the beauties of the London river”