Tower Bridge glass walkway shatters after visitor drops a beer bottle on it
The £1 million attraction only opened two weeks ago but has already been damaged when a visitor dropped a beer bottle that caused it to crack
Tower Bridge's glass floor attraction was opened on Nov 10 Photo: EDDIE MULHOLLAND/PETER GORDON
A £1 million glass walkway that was opened across London’s world famous Tower
Bridge less than two weeks ago, has been smashed after a beer bottle was
dropped onto it.
The stunning attraction, which offers visitors a unique, if slightly
terrifying view of the road-bridge and River Thames, 138 feet below, was
shattered when a member of the catering staff working at the venue dropped
an empty bottle while carrying a tray.
The glass floor, which was only unveiled on Nov 10, cracked and then
shattered, leaving Tower Bridge bosses with no choice but to cover and close
the section of the walkway affected.
Fortunately the design of the walkway, which is made up of five layers of
glass in each pane, meant engineers could repair the glass by simply
replacing the top layer, rather than the entire thing.
The incident occurred on Friday night but after a thorough inspection on
Saturday, engineers were able to replace and test the new glass over the
weekend, meaning the attraction did not have to close.
Chris Earlie, head of Tower Bridge, explained that the unique design of the
glass layers meant the repair job was very straightforward.
He said: “We are gutted it's happened in the first couple of weeks when it's been open to the public but it's completely safe.
“We should have said no glass on the glass section of the floor. It was a bit shortsighted of us.
<noframe>Twitter: Peter Gordon - Was in tower bridge walkway today, someone dropped a beer bottle; this happened <a href="http://t.co/fYFju69XBS" target="_blank">http://t.co/fYFju69XBS</a></noframe>
“A sacrificial layer of glass on the new West Walkway at Tower Bridge Exhibition shattered on Friday evening, when an empty beer bottle fell from a tray being carried by a member of the catering team during an event.
“The floor was immediately inspected and covered to protect guests from glass splinters.
“Tower Bridge Exhibition's engineering team attended the site on Saturday morning and the sacrificial glass panel was replaced on Sunday morning.
“The exhibition space remained open to the public as normal and no visitors were at risk.
“The new glass floor has four layers of glass with the sacrificial layer on top of that - this is installed so that it can be replaced if it is scratched or damaged.”
The walkway is one of two that will open between the north and south towers of the famous London landmark.
A parallel glass floor running across the other side of the bridge is due to open early next month.
Not only does the viewer get an unusual view of the river below, but also of the bridge’s unique engineering as the two sections of the road open to allow large ships to pass beneath.
Each glass panel along the 36ft walkway is getting on for three inches thick and weighs nearly 1,200lb.
Building work began on Tower Bridge in 1886 and it took eight years to complete.
The two walkways that connect the towers are designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspension sections which tie the bridge to the land on the north and south sides of the river.
In the early years of the 20th Century they were open to pedestrians who could use them to cross the river and gaze out across the capital.
But they were closed in 1910 after gaining a reputation as a hangout for prostitutes and pickpockets.
Around 40,000 motorists, cyclists and pedestrians use the crossing each day and the bascules or road sections, are raised around 1,000 times a year.
He said: “We are gutted it's happened in the first couple of weeks when it's been open to the public but it's completely safe.
“We should have said no glass on the glass section of the floor. It was a bit shortsighted of us.
<noframe>Twitter: Peter Gordon - Was in tower bridge walkway today, someone dropped a beer bottle; this happened <a href="http://t.co/fYFju69XBS" target="_blank">http://t.co/fYFju69XBS</a></noframe>
“A sacrificial layer of glass on the new West Walkway at Tower Bridge Exhibition shattered on Friday evening, when an empty beer bottle fell from a tray being carried by a member of the catering team during an event.
“The floor was immediately inspected and covered to protect guests from glass splinters.
“Tower Bridge Exhibition's engineering team attended the site on Saturday morning and the sacrificial glass panel was replaced on Sunday morning.
“The exhibition space remained open to the public as normal and no visitors were at risk.
“The new glass floor has four layers of glass with the sacrificial layer on top of that - this is installed so that it can be replaced if it is scratched or damaged.”
The walkway is one of two that will open between the north and south towers of the famous London landmark.
A parallel glass floor running across the other side of the bridge is due to open early next month.
Not only does the viewer get an unusual view of the river below, but also of the bridge’s unique engineering as the two sections of the road open to allow large ships to pass beneath.
Each glass panel along the 36ft walkway is getting on for three inches thick and weighs nearly 1,200lb.
Building work began on Tower Bridge in 1886 and it took eight years to complete.
The two walkways that connect the towers are designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspension sections which tie the bridge to the land on the north and south sides of the river.
In the early years of the 20th Century they were open to pedestrians who could use them to cross the river and gaze out across the capital.
But they were closed in 1910 after gaining a reputation as a hangout for prostitutes and pickpockets.
Around 40,000 motorists, cyclists and pedestrians use the crossing each day and the bascules or road sections, are raised around 1,000 times a year.
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