London’s Tower Bridge is seemingly stuck open.
(Picture: Photo courtesy of @TheSun/Twitter)London’s iconic Tower Bridge has reopened after becoming stuck – causing traffic chaos and Twitter excitement – following a technical fault.
It had been scheduled to open on Monday afternoon to allow a large wooden tall ship to pass through, but ended up stuck in place.
The crossing was closed to traffic and pedestrians “due to technical failure” and drivers were told to avoid the area, but images from The Shard skyscraper’s live camera facing east showed the two sides of the crossing rejoin at about midnight on Monday.
The bridge, which opened in 1894, typically opens about 800 times every year.
A spokesperson for the City of London Corporation, which manages the bridge, said an investigation into the fault and its cause is currently underway.
On Monday, Twitter account @NewsForAllUk reshared a video from The Sun that shows the bridge stuck wide open.
🚨 | NEW: Tower Bridge is currently stuck open
— News For All (@NewsForAllUK) August 9, 2021
pic.twitter.com/55HnWwvLdb
People took toTwitter to make light of the situation despite the inconvenience this has for people as they travel.
“Tower Bridge giving out the biggest ‘Nope!’ today,” someone wrote.
Another joked that it’s a “false alarm” and the bridge is really being used to film “Fast and Furious 30.”
Someone else really isn’t a fan of the architecture, and wrote: “Good now let it break into pieces it’s ugly.”
Check out some other responses below.
🚨 | NEW: Tower Bridge is currently stuck open
— News For All (@NewsForAllUK) August 9, 2021
pic.twitter.com/55HnWwvLdb
How #Brexit is going 😂 https://t.co/1GmDfohutJ
— Matt Kemp (@matt_kempez) August 9, 2021
Oops...😳🙈😳 https://t.co/8Uz0XfqS1I
— Laura 'Daisy' Sayers (@DaisyRaver) August 9, 2021
Jesus really said none shall work relax and have funnnn https://t.co/EEEcdzLlmi
— “cure madness” 🏳️🕷✝️🗽💒🦊🌙✨☘️🍀🌸 (@alyssaromaguera) August 9, 2021
When Tower Bridge first opened, it was powered by coal-burning steam engines. This was replaced by electricity and oil in the 1970s The impressive bridge is made up of more than 11,000 tons of steel and the foundation required more than 70,000 tons of concrete to support the structure, over 31 million bricks and 2 million rivets.
People who want to walk on Tower Bridge can do so free of charge. However, if they want to take the Tower Bridge Experience which includes walking along a glass floor, then there’s a fee of £10.60 for adults and £5.30 for children aged 5-15.
