The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-11 00:00:00

v
THE NEWI4I?-IkGE AT- e I,
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tiiio.9.; are Lec),ee, from. bateie t;.e I.)i --i:'-'- -: 4
London-bridgewb at a triumphant Ile,'' _aove?, S.
a 4
have when we can date from the utter deeftctiea.
of -that hideous obstacle, WestminQter-bridge I ..
Chelsea, which has been agitating for its borougl-i
has at leait its bridge-7-a step :towards it, per hapF,
abut w;.iicla it talk
.and dat :ts :1!uell as in
pleases:. It is vor.h talking and bolStine- of, -toe, '•
for Chelsea-bridge when finished, as it wilt I7e-nort
. spring, will be beyond all doubt the hand,omest .
structure of, its kind in the metropolis. It is a)
long time since its erection was resolved on. The •
new park : at Batter Sea had been receiving its full
meed •of Government -suriport for some years, and:
, the scheme was, therefore in the last stage pf otlicial'
abeyance, and likely to beconie extinct at any moe
ment, when it was resolved to erect a new bridge to
communicate with the new park, and afford the
public an accommodation which had long bc en-
wan:ed at that part of the river. Mr. Page, the ' ,
government engineer, was accordingly instructed to
prepare drawings and plans for a wooden susp .u..•ion
bridge with brink towers, which he made and sub- -
mated •to the consideration of the Metropolitan
Improvement Commissioners. Afterwards, there
were designs prepare Hot. a bridge of 7 arches faced
with stone, and for one in cast • iron of 5 arches;
bat, ultimately, an iron suspension - bridge
was agreed to, and the designs for the
present structure determined on. We think none '
will be inclined to cavil at the choice of the commis-
sioners. The new bridge is not only spacious and
ample in its accommodation for traffic, but in de=ign
the most elegant, in general effect the &nos t light and.
ornamental, of all the bridges, whether suspended or
otherwise, yet erected across the Thames. .It is the
kind of bridge, in fact, that seems to require bright
summer skies and fertile landscapes to do justice to
'its graceful outlines. More than enough has been.
erected to enable the visitor to judge of the general.
tone of the design ; but we need scarcely point out
that the lightest and most decorative portions will'
.be the last affixed, and that the beautiful lanterns -
and minarets which will surmount both towers and
add so much to the general effect are still to be
erected. The design of the whole is very novel. Two
towers:of cast iron columnar framing support the
c'iains and -arches, or rather openings. These towors• •
aril -.cased in elalleo&riateep,l-caslirege,of epee- . e
lattice work, like ilh-TEaiie- hi-ea% f; +I houseer. ,d,=
and surmounted with the pointed minarets and
lanterns we have already mentioned, and which
give to the whole an inexpressively light and grace-
ful effect. The cornice of the towers, the parapet
of the bridge, and the light rail which divides. the
footpath from the road, are all of the same pleasing •
ornamental kind, and in keeping with the 'wain.
features of the design. At each end of the bridge,
however, . are two octagon structures, on Which-
(probably because of their intended use, for they are
meant for toll-houses) none look with favour, and.
which in reality jar rather with the rest of the struc-
ture. In spite of terra-cotta pinnacles and little
spires, they persist in retaining the strongest re-
semblance to pepper-castors of mediaeval form.

So much for the general aspect of the bridge ; for
its position we need only say that it stretches from
the Middlesex side fromthe centre of that debateatle
land where Chelsea ends and Pimlico begins to Bat-
tersea on the Surrey side, where it overlooks the ne w
park on the right, and the ground where the Crystal
Palace Company are making believe to build a
" west end" station on the left. Between the river
walls at Trinity high-water line the total length of
the bridge is 704 ft. of which the centre arch or
opening is 333 ft., and the two side openings 166 k
ft. each. The width of the bridge for traffic, is 47 ft.
—that is, a carriage way of 32 ft. and two footways
of 7 ft. 6 in. each. The piers upon which the towers
are built and suspension chains hung are each 88 ft.
in length and 19 in width, and terminate in curved
cutwatsrs 7 ft. 6 in. above the level of high-water
mark. The foundations of these piers are precisely
similar to those which are at present being formed
for the arches of new Westminster-bridge, and dis-
pense entirely with massive and costly piers of
masonry and also with coffer dams. They consist
of timber piles of unusual size, driven deep into the
London clay far below the bed of the river at inter-
vals of 3 ft. over the entire area of the piers, and
cut off at low water level. The external surface of
the piers is formed by cast iron main piles of 12 in.
diameter and 27 ft. long, driven 20 ft. below low-
water mark, and between three cast iron plates are
driven so as to protect on all sides the bearing piles
by a metallic casing. The space thus enclosed- is
then dredged to the hard stratum of gravel above
the clay, filled in with solid concrete, and the whole
secured by wrought iron tie bars. OR the bearing
pile is a flooring of solid stone bedded on the con-
crete ; all the caisson above low water is lined with
brickwork, and the cutwaters at each end where ex-
posed to constant shocks from drifting vessels are
built of solid brickwork. The cast iron columnar
towers which rise • on these piers to support the
chains are strongly braced both vertically and hori-
zontally. Their present height is about 60 ft: from
high-water mark, though when entirely finished
with lanterns and pinnacles they will rise to at least
100 ft. These towers exclusive of the ornamental
casing, weigh 250 tons, arid they have from" the
weight of the bridge itself a pressure of 11 tons, and
when leaded a pressure of 3i tons per square inch.
Only two suspension chains are used, each of which
from mowing to mooring is 920 ft. long and weighs
about 350 tons. These chains are technically di-
vided into three portions—viz., the mooring chain,
or the parts at each: end which are buried in solid
masonry ; the back chains, or lengths which stretch
from the ground to the towers ; and the main
chains, which cross the centre from tower to tower.
The chain is made in long links, and each link is
form el of 7 and 8 bars alternately. The bars are 16
ft. and 16 ft. 9 in. long, 8 in. deep, and nearly an
inch in thickness. Each of these bars was tested
before it was allowed to be fixed to the enormous
pressure of 13i tons the square inch, or upwards of
of 100 tons the bar, and no 'bar was used the per-
manent extension of which exceeded 1-400th of an
inch to the foot. There are 56 links of 6,7, and 8
bars each employed in the mooring-chains at Chel-
sea ; 96 links of 7 and 8 bars each in the back
chains, and 92 links of 7 and 8 bars each in the
main chains, giving 244 links of 1,936 bars in all.
The sectional area of the chains at the centre of
the bridge is 212 square in., which gradually in-
creases in proportion to the strain towards the "
towers, where it is 226, The suspension rods pass-
ing from the chains to the roadway of the bridges
are 2 in. in diameter and placed 8 ft. apart. They
have a joint at each extremity, the upper one allow-
ing a motion parallel with the chains and the lower
a transverse motion. At the centre opening of the
bridge the roadway is 24 ft. 6 in. above high water
mark, and above low water 41 ft. The whole road-
way has a rise of 18 in. from the land moorings to
the centre. Two wrought iron longitudinal lattice
girders extend the entire length of the bridge, and
are secured to the suspension rods to which the
transverse girders supporting the carriage way are
also bolted. These girders are 87 in number. They
are formed of boiler-plate strengthened with angle
iron, and are 32 ft. long by 2 ft. 8 in. deep, and
weigh 32 cwt. each. Between these girders pass
wrought iron bearings, to which are bolted plates
of iron of the same material which forms the road-
way. On the upper surface these plates are covered
with bitumen, over which are laid compressed slabs
of asphalte and cork cuttings. This forms the
bed for a wood pavement of blocks of ship oak,
which are again coated over with asphalte and
the paved surface of the road completed. This
pavement is probably the lightest and most durable
that has ever yet been used for such a purpose.
The footways are formed of the same wood pave-
ment set in bitumen ; and next to the footways on
each side of the bridge a tramway has been laid on
oak beams covered with plate iron for such heavy
traffic as may use the bridge.
Such is a brief general outline of the proportions
of the new bridge at Chelsea, all the details of which
have been admirably carried out by the contractors,
Messrs. Young and Co. In a brief period it will be
opened for traffic. In point of usefulness and ac-
commodation few of our metropolitan bridges are
superior to it ; in architectural beauty it will, be.
yond all doubt, rank first. Yet the whole cost of
this bridge up to the present moment has only
amounted to 88,0001., or 21. 2s. sd. the square foot
of su r face.
oeiinstance,
o.Thus,:nao lar
atiecd compared
en wegooi
tfts
oth: r
1001 ulf u
London-bridge
ostb.hneedtrrhle bridges,sbdqrmuidaigr:ea
is quite a marvel of cheapness, as our readers may
afswoebasoelte. ostfr4Fse2au:rltrifssace. Southwark-bridge cost 384 000 t. or
onlyll 55.31. 1
104 the6d.
the toot,superficial or Brackfriarsfloso7t,;oool.inllv;at•
terloo, the largest by nearly 8,000 superficial feet,
cost 579,915/., or 10/. the foot ; Hungerford, 4/.
16s. 6d. the foot, or 98,7601.; Westminster, 71. 16x.
the superficial foot, or 382,000/. ; Vauxhall-bridge,
nearly the most unsightly obstruction on the river,
actually cost 91. 16s. the square foot of surface, or
300,000/., while Chelsea, as we have said, only cost
21. 2s. sd. New Westminster-bridge, taken at the
sum named in Sir Wm. Moleswoith s report—viz.,
235,0001.—wi1l cost 21.85.
ya more
South-
warkr e e o
6d. per superficialwa nitah foot.tthh the
It will be seen from this that, notwithstanding the
ncoh
oroi
gsnmhtai
amcqbna
eco-
nomical.
bridges
agtrTleye
shaouiotfssficharacterctocositreporpa
rneb:orrdi
foot
thet
with
Chelsea-bridge,
superficial
e eoafirn-mbfidr ictoiednal g,
compared
l s
as 21. 3s.
to ill. Os.; compared with Waterloo as 21. 3s. to
o.; compared with Vauxhall as 21. 3s. to 91.165.;
showing beyond a doubt the great extent of bridge
secoraniodatiiorofa
difficult
ornamentalohlTretimatancesbe
character
miollwhichy may under dau
obtained.