Waterloo Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge.

Waterloo Bridge. Showing above the bridge (left to right) are St Pauls Cathedral, Tower 42 and the Swiss Re building (the "Gherkin")

The first bridge on the site was designed by John Rennie and opened in 1817 as a toll bridge. Before its opening it was known as 'Strand Bridge'. It was nationalised in 1878 and given to the Metropolitan Board of Works, who removed the toll from it. Serious problems were found in its construction and the new owners reinforced it.

By the 1920s the problems had increased. London County Council decided to demolish it and replace it with a new structure designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. The new span was partially opened in 1942 and completed in 1945. It was the only Thames bridge to have been damaged by German bombers during World War II.

The south end of the bridge is the area known as The South Bank and includes the Royal Festival Hall, Waterloo station, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Royal National Theatre. The north end passes above the Victoria Embankment where the road joins The Strand and Aldwych alongside Somerset House.

Trivia

The British Progressive Rock band "UK" -- featuring John Wetton on vocals, Terry Bozzio on drums and Eddie Jobson on keyboards -- sings about the Waterloo Bridge in its haunting song "Rendezvous 6.02" (Danger Money, Polydor Records, 1979, subsequently released on compact disk by Caroline Records, under ID number 1585, and EG Records, under ID number EGCD-39). The song also appears on John Wetton's "greatest hits" album "Kings Road 1972-1980" (EG Records, 1987).

External links

• Aerial photo of Waterloo Bridge (the northernmost of the pair), from Multimap. The other is the Hungerford Bridge.
• Street map of Waterloo Bridge, from Multimap.