3-085-975 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Proposed new bridge at Vauxhall as designed by Sir Alexander Binnie, 1898. 'From a Water-Colour Drawing by Frank M. Harvey'. Binnie, the resident engineer of the London County Council (LCC), submitted a design for a steel bridge, which proved unpopular. At the request of the LCC, Binnie submitted a new design for a bridge of five spans, to be built in concrete and faced with granite. Work began, but was beset by problems. Leading architects condemned the design, with Arthur Beresford Pite describing it as "a would-be Gothic architectural form of great vulgarity and stupid want of meaning". Plans to build large stone abutments had to be suspended when it was found that the southern abutment would block the River Effra. After the construction of the foundations and piers it was then discovered that the clay of the riverbed at this point would not be able to support the weight of a concrete bridge. With the granite piers already in place, it was decided to build a steel superstructure onto the existing piers, and a superstructure 809 feet (247 metres) long and 80 feet (24 m) wide was designed by Binnie and Maurice Fitzmaurice and built by LCC engineers. The new bridge was eventually opened on 26 May 1906, five years behind schedule. From "Illustrated London News", 1898.