London’s famous Millennium Bridge is to undergo a £3.5 million refurbishment (Image: Getty)
London’s famous Millennium is to undergo a £3.5 million refurbishment after becoming ‘more slippery’ with work expected to start in the spring.
According to a tender published by the City of London Corporation, the City Bridge Foundation is looking for a contractor to resurface the crossing’s deck, repaint the steelwork, and re-tension the suspension cables.
The Millennium Bridge was the first new river crossing in for more than 100 years.
February 10 has been given as the estimated start date, with the contract to last six months. A City Bridge Foundation spokesperson however said the work is expected to begin by the spring, and that it is in the process of considering proposals from a number of companies.
Work on the bridge is expected to start in the spring (Image: Getty)
The steel suspension bridge connects the north bank of the Thames near the south bank, it lies in between Southwark Bridge to the and Blackfriars Railway Bridge.
The 25-year-old bridge officially opened on 10 June 2000, after two years of construction. On its opening day, around 90,000 people crossed the Millennium Bridge.
However, just three days after its opening it was closed for modification after swinging alarmingly.
Earning the nickname the ‘wobbly bridge’ it eventually reopened in February 2002 after works were done to stabilise it.
Almost a quarter of a century on, the aluminium bridge deck is “beginning to become worn”, the spokesperson said.
The aluminium bridge deck is ‘beginning to become worn’ (Image: Getty)
Don’t miss… [READ] [SPOTLIGHT]
“Meaning it is now smoother and more slippery than it used to be, so we need to act now to ensure the bridge remains safe for people to use,” a City Bridge Foundation spokesperson said.
“To ensure the work is as sustainable as possible, we’re asking potential contractors to remove, clean and replace all the existing aluminium bridge deck panels, which will be covered with a non-slip coating.”
The tender, which closed last week, listed three key elements: resurfacing the aluminium deck to improve slip resistance, repainting the steelwork, and re-tensioning the suspension cables, which “has not been completed before and will restore the profile of the central span following the initial relaxation of the cables and abutments”.