CASE STUDY -POOR CONCEPTUAL DESIGN-Millennium Bridge at London
Channel: IYAPPAN GURUMURTHY
Date: 2020-05-26

G.IYAPPAN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
SNS COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
COIMBATORE-35

                   CASE STUDY -POOR CONCEPTUAL DESIGN-Millennium Bridge at London 
This 320 m span Aluminium and Stainless Steel Bridge across the River Thames in
London was opened on 10 June 2000 amidst a lot of fanfare. It is the first river crossing
to be built in London, after Tower Bridge (completed in 1884) and links St. Paul's
Cathedral (in the North Bank) and the new Tate Modern and Globe Theatre (in the South
Bank).
In many ways it is an unusual structure. Sir Norman Foster, a famous British Architect
claimed to have designed it in association with an Artist, Sir Antony Caro and the
Engineers were Ove Arup and Partners, a distinguished firm of consulting Engineers.
From the start, Foster emphasised the innovative nature of its design. The objective was
" to push the suspension bridge technology as far as possible, to create a uniquely thin
bridge profile, forming a slender blade across the River Thames". Jonathan Duffy, a BBC
commentator remarked " It sounds great and on paper, probably looked sublime, but
often reality is the harshest judge of cutting edge Architects". The bridge was made of
Aluminium decking and stiffened by suspension cables in the horizontal plane. No
attempt was made to stiffen it in the vertical plane.
During the first weekend (10-11 June 2000), some 160,000 persons crossed the bridge
essentially because of its novelty. As people began to cross, it became apparent that the
bridge was swaying several inches from side to side. The transient population on the
bridge swayed drunkenly as they walked in synchrony, as if choreographed. The bridge
was indeed wobbling dangerously over very deep waters. Many felt sea-sick while
crossing. It was obvious that the bridge was not adequately stiffened to resist gravity
loading. An American visitor remarked that " the design of the bridge looks as flimsy as
some of the rope bridges seen in Indiana Jones films....".
The bridge had to be closed to traffic after having been open only for two days. The
Engineers/Designers are hoping to install dampers (similar to shock absorbers) to reduce
the oscillations to a minimum (acceptable) level.
This case study illustrates the dangers of over confidence. The designers had extrapolated
the established Technology into untested (and dangerous) situations. It is true that dozens
(if not hundreds) of Bridges have been built all over the world. Nevertheless it remains
the case that all the suspension bridges (as indeed all the structures) should be adequate
both with respect to "strength" as well as "stiffness".