Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-08
lONOOKS MANY BRIDGES
TAXPAYERS TO BE PRESENTED
WITH NEW STRUCTURE.
Annual Income From Valuable Es-
tates Used for Traffic Purposes.
Cost of Maintenance.


Every once in a while the people OF
London receive a present in the shape of
a bridge. A new bridge will In all
probability be built across the Thames
at an early date, and it will be a present
to the taxpayers of the city in every
sense of the word. for 1t will cost them
not penny, either for first cost or main-
tenance.
The bridge house estates committee of
the corporation of London possesses valu-
able estates. which bring in an annual
| income Of close on $7jO.OOO,OOO, and its
special care is to see that sufficient bridge
accommodation is provided for the traf-
.fic between the north and south banks
of the Thames-at any rate. between the
tower and Southwark bridges.
Until about the middle Of the eight
zenith century London bridge was the
only one crossing the Thames in Lon
don, and 1t was for It's administration
ed. Apparently. the origin OF the trust
dates back to the old wooden bridges
which preceded the stone bridge, known
as odd London bridge" commenced in
1176.
Among the many sources from which
the funds originally came were-donations
from various public spirited ladies and
gentlemen at various times, tax i'm
posed by William Rufus-a tax on wool
imposed by Henry (which gave rise to
the tradition that London bridge rested ON
woolpacks-and tolls sanctioned by Ed
ward l.
Old London Bridge.
"Old London bridge" took about thirty
five years to build. In 1853 rents from
the houses on it amounted to over $500,
which was considered a goodly sum in
those days.
One old London bridge was pulled down
oy Olaf OF Norway by the simple process
or attaching his vessels to the piles and
pulling the whole structure over, a later
bridge was swept away by a flood and the
next was almost completely DESTROYED by
fire. ~
/ ''Old London bridge" was badly dam
aged by fire at each end shortly after its
completion. and about three thousand
people, who ran on the bridge for safety,
were either drowned or burned to death
Inc present London bridge. which was
opened by William Nv and Queen Ade-
laide walking over it August 1, 1881. took
ABOUT seven and half years to build
ana the total cost of the Undertaking. in
Guiding the removal OF the old bridge, the
construction Of the approaches and the
improvements carried out at each side of
the bridge. reached the enormous figure Of
almost $3,OOOOOO.
VI this sum. the greater portion came
out OF the bridge house estates: the gov
e ern' win parliaments sanction, con-
tributed a smaller portion and $1,000 600
was raised upon the credit Of the coal and
wine dues.
Cost Of Repairs.
In recent years some very big expendi-
lures have been undertaken by the bridge
house estates committee. They. include
the widening Of London bridge at a cost
OF about $5OO.OO0-over $500 to the inch
and the widening of Blackfriars bridge at
a cost of $6OO.OOO.
Naturally. great deal of money has to
be paid out each year for repairs, and
some idea of this may be given by refer
ring to the cost OF repanting Tower
bridge about couple of years ago.
One hundred men were engaged on the
work night and day, and to give three
coats OF paint to every inch of the iron
work required about sixty tons Of paint
Miles OF scaffolding were erected to make
the work safe: but, at the same time, the
men employed were covered by special
insurance. Besides the illumination given
hundreds of pounds of candles were used
nightly by the workmen.
Gliding the large crossings of the bridge,
and the city arms and shields on the
footways cost 5000. while the total cost
was about $4,000. The interval allowed
between each painting of the bridge is
six years. SO that for this work alone
the expenditure on Tower bridge is 5000
year.
One of the finest works ever under
taken by the bridge house estates COM
mittee was undoubtedly the building Of
the Tower bridge. Its opening span is
the largest In the world. The cost Of the
undertaking was $5,92O,OOO.