Modern London Bridge

Modern London Bridge

The current London Bridge, pictured in January 1987. The skyscraper in the background is the National Westminster Tower, opened six years prior.

The current London Bridge was designed by architect Lord Holford and engineers Mott, Hay and Anderson.^[23] It was constructed by contractors John Mowlem and Co from 1967 to 1972,^[23] and opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 March 1973.^[24] It comprises three spans of prestressed-concrete box girders, a total of 928 feet (283 m) long. The cost of £4 million (£42.1 million as of 2013),^[18] was met entirely by the Bridge House Estates charity. The current bridge was built in the same location as Rennie's bridge, with the previous bridge remaining in use while the first two girders were constructed upstream and downstream. Traffic was then transferred onto the two new girders, and the previous bridge demolished to allow the final two central girders to be added.^[25]
In 1984, the British warship HMS Jupiter collided with London Bridge, causing significant damage to both ship and bridge. On Remembrance Day 2004, various London bridges were furnished with red lighting as part of a night-time flight along the river by wartime aircraft. London Bridge was the one bridge not subsequently stripped of the illuminations, which are switched on at night. The current London Bridge is often shown in films, news and documentaries showing the throng of commuters journeying to work into The City from London Bridge Station (south to north). A recent example of this is actor Hugh Grant crossing the bridge north to south during the morning rush hour, in the 2002 film About a Boy. On Saturday 11 July 2009, as part of the annual Lord Mayor's charity Appeal and to mark the 800th anniversary of Old London Bridge's completion in the reign of King John, the Lord Mayor and Freemen of the City drove a flock of sheep across the bridge, supposedly by ancient right.^[26] In vaults below the southern abutment of the bridge is 'The London Bridge Experience.'