THE TRAFFIC ON LONDON BRIDGES.
The flow of traffic on some of the principal bridges by actual computation during twelve hours, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., was: Pedestrians, London Bridge, 96,080; Southwark Bridge, 2,500; Blackfriars Bridge, 48,095; Waterloo Bridge, 12,000; Westminster Bridge, 38,015. Equestrian traffic: London Bridge, 211; Southwark Bridge, 93; Blackfriars, 91; Waterloo, 38; Westminster Bridge, 311. Vehicular traffic: London Bridge, 26,800; Southwark Bridge, 516; Blackfriars Bridge, 6,384; Waterloo Bridge, 2,603; Westminster Bridge, 7,300. From these figures it will be seen that the traffic on London Bridge which leads from the heart of the business portion of the city, and is toll free, exceeded that on all of the others put together. Some of the bridges are owned by companies and a toll of half a penny per passenger is taken for revenue by them.
London Bridge was designed by Sir John Rennie and built by his son. The first pile was driven March 15th, 1824, government contributing £200,000 toward the undertaking. Altogether the bridge cost £2,000,000 before it was finished. It is built on coffer-dams, and the bridge has five semi-elliptical arches. The centre arch has a span of 152 feet, and a rise above high water mark of 24 feet 6 inches; the two arches next the centre are 140 feet span, and the two abutment arches have 130 feet of span. There is a parapet four feet high and the length between the abutments is 782 feet, while the width between the parapets is 53 feet. The bridge was nearly eight years in construction, and 120,000 tons of stone were used in its erection.
Southwark Bridge is constructed of iron with three colossal arches, and was built by Rennie. The middle arch has a span of 240 feet and a rise of 24 feet. Its height above low-water mark to the roadway is 55 feet. The cost was £800,000 and the bridge was opened in 1819. Its length is 700 feet, and the roadway is 42 feet wide.
The new Blackfriars Bridge is 1,000 feet long, 42 feet wide, and the cost will be £300,000.
Waterloo Bridge is the finest in the world. Its dimensions are: Length between abutments 2,456 feet, water-way, 1,326 feet. The carriage-way is 28 feet wide with a pathway on each side of seven feet. There are nine arches, each of which are 120 feet in span with a rise of 35 feet. Waterloo Bridge has a level grade from one end to the other. Canova, the sculptor, said of this bridge, "It was alone worth a journey from Rome to London to see it." The cost was £1,000,000.
WATERLOO BRIDGE.
As a set-off to what Macaulay has prophesied in regard to London Bridge and the future New Zealander, Baron Charles Dupin, the great French publicist, speaks of Waterloo Bridge as follows:
